Just off the phone with David (for those who don’t know, David is Michelle’s brother).
No surgery today. It’s possible they’ll be able to get him in tomorrow, but no confirmation.
Steve did very well overnight. His temp stayed below 100; sputum culture was negative; still on antibiotics.
He is progressing out of his delirium; he’s really waking up. This diagnosis has NOT yet been confirmed, but if Steve does in fact have sensation in his feet (as David and Michelle experienced) he would be classified as ASIA-B. “ASIA” stands for the ‘American Spinal Injury Association’, and they have defined an international classification for spinal cord injuries.
Rather than go into details here about the various ASIA classifications, here are a few links:
- ASIA Classification on Wikipedia
- Spinal Cord Injury information page
- Helpful resources at the Christopher Reeve Foundation.
Steve’s pain continues to be quite severe. The challenge for the hospital staff is to balance pain control with delirium. They do not want him so sedated that he remains delirious, but also want to definitely manage his pain. They are going to try new pain medication today.
Michelle asks for continued prayer for Steve’s pain, as well as wisdom on where to go for rehab. They hope that as Steve wakes up they can have a dialogue with him about this.
Miche is grateful to have the same nurse assigned today; this means that she’ll be able to stay with Steve for most of the day.