Kevin Everett Update
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by Silencer76
Once again, this was posted on my blog Juuust a Bit Outside :
In a press conference at One Bills Drive that ended just moments ago, Dr. John Marzo, along with Dr. Andrew Cappucino, an orthopedic spine surgeon, gave an updated, in depth, description of Kevin Everett's journey last evening after his removal from the field on a stretcher.
Dr. Cappucino described Everett's injury as "catastrophic and grave," and made it clear that Everett is not out of the woods yet, and that death is still a possibility.
The C 3 and C 4 vertebrae were removed from Everett in the surgery, but the spinal cord and spinal cord cover were undamaged. He does have what is termed an "incomplete spinal cord injury," meaning that the ability of the spinal cord to convey messages to or from the brain is not completely lost. People with incomplete injuries retain some motor or sensory function below the injury.
At the moment, Everett is in a quiescent state, basically a medically induced coma, to allow the swelling to go down and allow healing to take place. This will be the case for at least the next 48 to 72 hours.
"I have to tell you that statistically the chances of that occurring are very small, Cappuccino said when asked if Everett might walk again.
"A best-case scenario is full recovery, but not likely," Dr. Andrew Cappuccino said, one day after performing a four-hour operation on the player. "I believe there will be some permanent neurological paralysis. ... A full neurological recovery was bleak, dismal."
Within 1 hour of the injury, Everett was diagnosed with compression of the spine and a fracture between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae. The spinal cord itself was intact.
He had no movement below his shoulders, but could feel sensation when pressure was placed further down his body. He was awake and responsive, knew what had to be done when given the options by his doctors. Before going into surgery, he tried to comfort his mother and said he would recover.
During the surgical procedure on Sunday night, doctors realigned and decompressed Everett's spine, and fused the third and fourth cervical vertebrae with screws.
Monday morning, doctors performed neurologic tests and determined that he could breath on his own, and had similiar sensations as the night before, but stressed they still do not have a prognosis. However, Dr. Cappucino does point out that this is NOT an indicator of future results. Doctors are concerned about blood clotting and pneumonia to start, and will keep him in a protected state with drugs for the next two to three days. Everett is also on a respirator.
A sad day all round for the Bills. Once again, our best wishes go out to Kevin, his family, and the Bills organization.
