During the night after his surgery Bruce suffered a serious setback.  He lost consciousness and was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment.  He is still there, stabilized, and undergoing further observations and treatment.

The surgeons said the actual hip replacement “could not have gone better.”  The length of the surgery, amount of blood loss, and other factors were well within the normal range.  Three hours after the surgery, Bruce talked with the surgeon and was even able to eat.

But after a couple hours his condition deteriorated.  Additional tests, CAT scans, and evaluations were conducted to determine the possible causes. The staff then concluded that Bruce’s condition was the result of a rare condition known as a fat embolism in which small fat globules from the bone marrow enter the blood stream and interrupt normal functions in various ways.

Treatment is to allow the body to dissolve and absorb the fat from marrow that sometimes accompanies “long bone fractures” such as the one Bruce suffered.  For that healing to occur, the patient must be kept stable, with blood fully oxygenated, etc.  It can take up to a week or even more.

Bruce’s wife Linda is in route to Panama to be with him while treatment continues. Brad and Doug will stay with Bruce and Linda “as long as they are possibly needed” according to Brad. “We will be here as long as necessary, if only to provide moral support.”

All the riders request you keep Bruce and Linda, and their entire family in your prayers during this difficult time.