Thanks for putting this up over here, Zach. Here is an update from his family...
"Firstly, he has suffered a very serious spinal injury. He has crushed his 3,4 and 5th cervical vertebrae and consequently suffered some damage to his spinal chord. He had a 7 hour operation on saturday to stabilise the chord and relieve some pressure. The front of his vertebrae were shattered and has been replaced.
Following a day of rest (sunday), he today goes in for a further 7 hour surgery to repair the back of his 3,4 and 5 vertebrae. This should allow some of the swelling to go down.
To let you know how things change, on saturday we were told he had no movement below his neck. Following saturdays surgery, we were all surprised when he shrugged his shoulders and now has some sensation on his upper left side of the body. This was really encouraging.
He is on a ventilator and therefore isn't able to talk but communication is possible. He is aware of his condition and is coping better than all of us. Don't forget how strong he is!
On friday we are expecting the ventilator to come out of his mouth and inserted in his neck which should make communication better, and him more comfortable.
He is in surgery now so the next update maybe tomorrow."
"Firstly, he has suffered a very serious spinal injury. He has crushed his 3,4 and 5th cervical vertebrae and consequently suffered some damage to his spinal chord. He had a 7 hour operation on saturday to stabilise the chord and relieve some pressure. The front of his vertebrae were shattered and has been replaced.
Following a day of rest (sunday), he today goes in for a further 7 hour surgery to repair the back of his 3,4 and 5 vertebrae. This should allow some of the swelling to go down.
To let you know how things change, on saturday we were told he had no movement below his neck. Following saturdays surgery, we were all surprised when he shrugged his shoulders and now has some sensation on his upper left side of the body. This was really encouraging.
He is on a ventilator and therefore isn't able to talk but communication is possible. He is aware of his condition and is coping better than all of us. Don't forget how strong he is!
On friday we are expecting the ventilator to come out of his mouth and inserted in his neck which should make communication better, and him more comfortable.
He is in surgery now so the next update maybe tomorrow."
