1% (Nikki Update)

This update is mainly for a family friend of ours who is spending Christmas out west, but also for those people who read this and then pass the information on to their prayer groups. The doctor had Nikki go through another set of x-rays yesterday and finally explained why they have been doing x-ray after x-ray and why they are leaving the neck brace on, even though it rests on her broken collar bone. While I don't know the medical terms (I'm sure my Aunt L does) here is what we were told. She has a fracture at the base of her skull, where her spine stops and skull begins. 90% of people who have this type of fracture would have NEVER made it out of the car alive, let alone live long enough to be alive when the medics arrive. Out of the remaining 10%, 9% of those people are paralyzed from the neck down. Nikki falls in the 1% group. She has the injury, but is expected to heal with minor effects (I say minor because she is alive and able to move). She sent her mother home for the night (the first time since the accident that she hasn't been there) and was able to really get some rest. She did a lot of physical therapy yesterday and was really inquisitive with her father about the accident. She was asking a lot of questions and her dad kept saying, "I don't know what I'm allowed to tell you." She was able to figure out that she did wreck her grandmother's new car, but that it wasn't her fault. Her emotions are back, so between figuring that out and realizing she was in the 1%, she cried a lot. She did partially pass her swallow test. She couldn't swallow a cracker, heck I don't blame her. She can now have pureed food and they did take out her feeding tube. The doctor said that at this rate, it is looking really good for her discharge on the 9th. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. While I know she and Phil aren't exactly religious people, I know that prayer helps. I am hoping that this accident and realizing all of the power people's prayers have had for her will bring her closer to Christ.