In the middle of the night an orthopedic surgeon came to our room in the ICU. He first confirmed that there were no spinal cord injuries by having Jan move her toes, feet, legs, hands, and fingers to specific commands (which she did). He then confirmed the severity of her injuries to the pelvis and ribs. He told us that her pelvic injuries were in the front of the pelvis, stating that that location was the best place for them to be. Due to the fact that the pelvis is attached to and tightly surround by a number of muscles, this would act to keep the pelvis in place while healing. There would be no need for surgery or any body casting (although the healing would be a painful process).
During the day, they tried to get Jan up on her feet. This was needed to prevent blood clots from forming in her legs that could result in an ambulism or a stroke. Her pain was so intense that she couldn't even stand it for them to position the bed in a reclining position so she could step out, thus the effort was abandoned. They continued to give doses of morphine each hour to arrest the pain. Also because they didn't know when her neck surgery might happen (which could be any moment), they couldn't allow her to eat or drink anything. The best that could be done was to swab her mount with a small moist sponge every 15 minutes.
We didn't see the neurosurgeon until late that afternoon. He had spent quite a bit of time studying her injury and how to fix it. After describing several possible solutions, he told us of a relatively new techique that involved live 3D images produced by a specialized CT scanner. The Intermountain Medical Center is the only facility in the state that has an operating room with one of these. He favored this course of action, to which we agreed. He would try and set up the operation for the following morning (but it was possible that it might not be done until Tuesday).
Knowing that surgery was not imminent, we were allowed to give Jan ice chips (and finally sips of water). This was very welcomed, seeing that she had become very parched. At Jan's request, my son Chad and I gave her another blessing relative to the surgery (she couldn't remember the blessing from the night before). In it was again revealed the same positive outcome of the prior blessing.
During the day, they tried to get Jan up on her feet. This was needed to prevent blood clots from forming in her legs that could result in an ambulism or a stroke. Her pain was so intense that she couldn't even stand it for them to position the bed in a reclining position so she could step out, thus the effort was abandoned. They continued to give doses of morphine each hour to arrest the pain. Also because they didn't know when her neck surgery might happen (which could be any moment), they couldn't allow her to eat or drink anything. The best that could be done was to swab her mount with a small moist sponge every 15 minutes.
We didn't see the neurosurgeon until late that afternoon. He had spent quite a bit of time studying her injury and how to fix it. After describing several possible solutions, he told us of a relatively new techique that involved live 3D images produced by a specialized CT scanner. The Intermountain Medical Center is the only facility in the state that has an operating room with one of these. He favored this course of action, to which we agreed. He would try and set up the operation for the following morning (but it was possible that it might not be done until Tuesday).
Knowing that surgery was not imminent, we were allowed to give Jan ice chips (and finally sips of water). This was very welcomed, seeing that she had become very parched. At Jan's request, my son Chad and I gave her another blessing relative to the surgery (she couldn't remember the blessing from the night before). In it was again revealed the same positive outcome of the prior blessing.
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