Day 98 Afternoon Update -- Surgery Abandoned

When Daniel went in for surgery this morning, the doctors did some exploratory work first. The surgeon injected a needle into the abscess in Daniel's liver and attempted to withdraw the toxic fluid, but it was too thick to come out. Based on that discovery, the doctors determined that inserting another tube to drain the abscess would not work, so the surgery was abandoned.

Looking over all the CT scans, the doctors reviewed the progress of the liver abscess from just after the accident until now. Over time the abscess has reduced from approximately the size of two fists to the size of a golf ball. Daniel was admitted to the hospital yesterday because of high fevers and it was assumed this was a result of infection from toxic fluid leaking out of the liver abscess. But after reviewing everything, the doctors now believe the high fevers were caused by the dead liver tissue being absorbed into the body.

The doctors believe the dead liver tissue will continue to liquefy and be absorbed into the body. The healing process for the liver is slow, but this latest prognosis from the doctors is good news. They are going to keep Daniel in the hospital for 24 hours to make sure the high fevers do not return. Aubrey sounded very relieved when he called to update us on Daniel's condition.