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Chiefs' Thomas may be upgraded
Posted: Wednesday January 26, 2000 05:45 PM
MIAMI (AP) -- Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas may soon be upgraded from intensive care to intermediate care, hospital officials said Wednesday. Thomas, 33, remained in serious but stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital following surgery to rebuild part of his spine, hospital spokeswoman Maria Rosa Gonzalez said. Thomas, a nine-time Pro Bowl player, may be transferred out of intensive care by Thursday, she said. Thomas was thrown from his car Sunday after losing control on an icy highway near Kansas City, Mo. He broke his spine and neck and wound up semiconscious with no feeling in his legs. The NFL star remained paralyzed from the chest down, but his spinal cord was not severed as doctor originally feared. It was badly bruised, which doctors said gives Thomas a better chance of recovering lost feeling in his lower body. Thomas could be transferred to a rehabilitation facility in about two weeks. He already has begun working with therapists. The Chiefs linebacker and two companions were heading to the Kansas City airport at the time of the accident. They were planning to fly to St. Louis for the NFC Championship game when their car flipped on an icy road. Thomas and Mike Tellis, 49, were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the car, police said. Tellis was killed instantly. A third man in the car who was wearing a seat belt was treated and released.
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