New Jersey governor Jon S. Corzine has undergone another operation on his injured leg. What is disturbing about this report is the release of new details about his condition that I had not seen before. He is under heavy sedation and is on a ventilator. Not being a medical professional, I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds as if there is quite a lot wrong with the man. (If anyone knows if this is standard procedure with the type of injuries that are being reported, let me know in the comments section). Hopefully the man is going to make a full recovery. Doctors are predicting a lot of therapy and rehabilitation will be required.
CAMDEN, N.J., April 14 — New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine (D) underwent surgery on his injured leg Saturday, while state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor had been found but did not realize he was involved.
Corzine's recovery was progressing better than doctors expected, said Steven Ross, the head of trauma at Cooper University Hospital. In the surgery, doctors cleaned a six-inch wound on Corzine's left thigh.
The governor is not able to speak and is not aware of his surroundings because of his heavy sedation. He is expected to remain on a ventilator until at least Monday, doctors said.
There is one item newly added to the list of injuries that also was not in earlier reports:
The governor's femur was broken in two places. He underwent two hours of surgery on his leg after being hospitalized. He also suffered a broken sternum, 12 broken ribs, a head laceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebra, according to doctors at Cooper University Hospital, where he was flown by helicopter after the crash. Corzine, 60, did not appear to suffer brain damage.
The reports are also now confirming that Corzine was not wearing a seatbelt. So when he does resume his duties, he'll have some explaining to do to the voters. Especially those who ever received a ticket for failing to wear a seatbelt. There is also going to be some 'splaining to be done as to why a state police officer was driving the SUV but failed to require Corzine to wear his belt. Rank may have it's privileges, but those do not include ignoring laws others are required to obey.
