(This information is written by Sydney's mother)
We are so grateful for the love and support of all of our friends and family! We have strongly felt the power of the hundreds of prayers that have been offered for Sydney today, and are thankful for the tender mercy of the Lord in blessing her. Her name has been put on the rolls of 8 temples. Calling chains have been put in place in 2 church wards, within our family, and with the school seminary. Thank you for all your love and support! The prayers are making a big difference! (Skip to bottom of entry to see our big miracle).
After surgery (around 8am) Sydney was moved to the ICU to recover. It is expected she will be there 3-5 days until she is stable enough to be cared for on the hospital floor. When you touch her legs, she can feel it (good sign). The nerves are overactive right now so even if the blanket brushes against her legs it is very painful. She is not able to move her legs on her own, but can slightly wiggle her left toes. She is on steroids to take the swelling down, which will further ease the pressure on her spinal cord. She is on a drug to increase her blood pressure to hopefully get more nourishment and blood flow to the spinal cord. She is on oxygen. It is difficult to breathe because it puts pressure on her spine. She has pressure cuffs on her legs to push the blood up and avoid pooling and clotting. She also has special boots on her feet to avoid “foot droop”.
She is conscious and able to whisper to us. The staff is really warming up to her because she is so thankful to everyone for their help, and is so optimistic and positive! What an amazing young lady!
As she gained consciousness after surgery it was so cute! She would look worried and whisper “oh no! oh no!” I would say, “what is the matter, honey?” She would whisper “I'm going to miss Shakespeare practice and Smith will kick me off the Shakespeare team!” I would say “don't worry, he will understand, you won't need to go to practice for awhile”. Then she would say “oh no, oh no!” “What's wrong, honey?” She starts to cry, “I didn't read scriptures or write in my journal last night!” (Sydney does this every night and is now broken hearted to break her perfect record – Go Sister Turner!). “It is OK,” I say, “we will read scriptures today”. Grandma Joyce scrounges around the hospital and finds some Spanish scriptures and does her best to read to Sydney. Sydney continues to worry about finishing homework assignments or missing rehearsals, but we reassure her and slowly she calms as the anesthesia wears off.
The paramedics who responded at the scene come to visit Sydney. They are amazed she made it through surgery successfully and tell us it is a miracle she is alive.
Soon Karla, the physical therapist, comes in to check feeling and mobility in Sydney's legs. It is miraculous when Karla lifts Sydney's leg and Syd is able to slightly push her heel against Karla's hand! She can also slightly bend her knee as Karla supports the weight of her leg. We are so grateful, and this gives us hope that with therapy Sydney will be able to increase the mobility in her legs! She has great faith and is determined to be able to walk again.
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