(09/29/06) NEW HYDE PARK - There is a long road ahead in the recovery of a 9-year-old shot in the eye during a break-in last weekend, but the boy?s mother expressed optimism Friday her son would be alright.

John Henry Ramano, Jr., was in his cousin?s Inwood home when three robbers entered. A shootout followed in which someone shot the boy in the right eye, sending a bullet through his brain. He is being treated at Schneider Children?s Hospital and is partially paralyzed. The boy?s mother, Melissa Moncalban, calls the experience a parent?s worst nightmare. She says her son is aware of where he is and she believes he will be alright, though never the same. Doctors predict Ramano will require several more surgeries, but it is too early to know what the final prognosis will be.

Police in Brooklyn arrested one man in connection with the attempted robbery. Officials say they are still searching for the other two.