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View Full Version : USC's Johnson gives mom thumbs-up



Denver Native (Carol)
09-29-2009, 03:20 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4516365

USC tailback Stafon Johnson is awake and communicating via writing and hand signals less than a day after emergency surgery to repair throat injuries from a weightlifting accident, according to a doctor at the hospital where he is being treated.

Dr. Gudata Hinika, the trauma medical director at California Hospital Medical Center, said Johnson is giving thumbs up signs and communicating in writing to his mother and teammates after undergoing a seven-hour surgery to repair a crushed neck and larynx.

Johnson is in critical but stable condition, the hospital told ESPN's Shelley Smith.

Johnson, a senior who scored the No. 7 Trojans' go-ahead touchdown against Ohio State two weeks ago, was bench-pressing Monday when the bar slipped from his right hand and fell onto his throat. He underwent more than seven hours of surgery to treat crushing injuries to his neck as well as severe injuries to his larynx.

Stan Johnson, the player's father, told ESPN's Smith that his son needed a tracheotomy to enable him to breathe.

Hinika said a man of lesser stature would have died from the injuries, but the thickness of Johnson's neck muscles helped him to breathe and probably saved his life.

Hinika said Johnson is expected to fully recover, but would not speculate on the recovery prognosis for Johnson's vocal chords. It may take as long as six weeks before doctors even ask Johnson to attempt to speak, depending on factors such as swelling, he explained.

The doctors are trying to wean Johnson off a ventilator, and he is being fed through a tube in his stomach.

"It hit him with a lot of force, and it hurt him," coach Pete Carroll said after the Trojans' brief practice Monday night but before the surgery was finished. "No broken bones as far as I understand, but he's got some damage in there somewhere, and they're working it out, trying to figure out what it is. ... It is serious. He did get hurt, so we don't know exactly what it is, and they're not going to know until they go through the surgery."

Immediately after the accident, Johnson was coughing up blood, a source close to the USC football program told ESPN's Smith.

An assistant strength and conditioning coach was standing over Johnson at the time of the accident.

"I've seen players have the bar slip and fall onto their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat," said head strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle, who was standing 10 feet away at the time of the accident. "We're fortunate he was being spotted."

Johnson, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound senior from Compton, Calif., is the Trojans' second-leading rusher and goal-line specialist. He's rushed 32 times for 157 yards this year and leads the team with five touchdowns. He entered the season with 1,395 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

shank
09-29-2009, 06:23 PM
:heebeejeebees:

Simple Jaded
09-29-2009, 06:34 PM
Stafon Johnson was going to be a huge sleeper in the NFL draft, imo, I hope it's not too soon to wish him well in a return to football if he chooses to do so.

Word is he's a real class act.......