读者文摘:奇迹生还的男孩(4)（在线收听）

Xavier slept fitfully. Each time he woke up, he asked, "Is it out yet?" "No, not yet sweetie," Gabrielle would tell him. Xavier cried softly each time he heard this.

泽维尔断断续续地睡了。每次醒来他都会问，“尖杆出来了吗？”加布里埃尔会告诉他，“没有，还没有，亲爱的。”每次听到这个后泽维尔都轻声地哭泣。

Gabrielle, her eyes moist with tears, whispered to her son, "You're the strongest person I know."

眼眶泛泪的加布里埃尔对儿子耳语，“你是我认识的最坚强的人。”

"The biggest problem is that barbed end," Dr. Ebersole told the team assembled at 8:30 a.m. in the angiography suite.

团队早上8点半在血管造影室集合后，埃伯索尔说，“最大的问题是杆子的尖端。”

Xavier had been anesthetized and was sound asleep as the doctors began to plot their next moves.

在医生们计划下一步行动时，泽维尔已经被麻醉并且熟睡了。

Dr. Ebersole pointed to a computer screen; it revealed the skewer had a notch in the shaft near the point.

埃伯索尔医生指着电脑屏幕说，画面显示在尖杆尖端附近的柄上有一个刻痕。

If they pulled the skewer out the way it went in, the notched tip could rip an artery open.

如果他们按照尖杆刺进来的方式把它拔出来，尖端的刻痕可能会将动脉撕开。

They discussed pushing the skewer through the back of Xavier's head to expose the notched end and cut it off before pulling the whole thing out through the front.

他们探讨了将尖杆刺过泽维尔的后脑勺的做法，目的是将有刻痕的一端暴露出来，把它剪掉，然后再把尖杆从前面拔出来。

But the rod was made of thick stainless steel, and it would take a lot of force to break that end off.

但这根杆是由厚不锈钢制成的，要把这一端折断需要很大的力。

The movement this would create could tear arteries.

这样做引起的活动可能会撕裂动脉。

They'd have to pull it out the way it went in—if that was even possible to do without killing him.

他们不得不以它刺进来的方式把它拔出来-如果在让泽维尔活命的情况下可能做到的话。

Xavier was wheeled to the angiography suite about 10 a.m.

上午10点左右，泽维尔被推到血管造影室

Mean- while, his family and many friends were in the waiting room, and every nearby church had dedicated that Sunday to praying for the boy.

与此同时，他的家人和许多朋友都在候诊室，附近的每一个教堂都在那个星期天为这个男孩祈祷。

In the angiography suite, some 20 surgeons, specialists, and nurses wearing blue radiation-protective gear and lead-lined glasses were waiting.

在血管造影术室里，大约20名外科医生、专家和护士穿着蓝色的辐射防护服，戴着铅内衬的眼镜在等待。

Two giant "arms," one attached to the floor and the other hanging from the ceiling, were positioned close to Xavier's head.

两个巨大的“手臂”，一个附在地板上，另一个挂在天花板上，被放置在泽维尔的头部附近。

Each arm held two X-ray devices that moved in wide arcs around his head to create three-dimensional images.

每只手臂上都有两个X光装置，这些装置围绕着他的头部呈宽弧线运动，以产生三维图像。

The images were displayed in real time on a large flat-panel screen hanging from the ceiling at eye level for Dr.Ebersole, just above Xavier.

这些图像实时显示在一个巨大的平板屏幕上，该屏幕悬挂在天花板上，与眼睛齐平。就在泽维尔的正上方。

Dr.Ebersole could now see the one-in-a-million trajectory the skewer had taken: It had missed his spine by about half an inch.

埃伯索尔现在可以看到尖杆所走的非常罕见的轨迹：它离泽维尔的脊柱只有半英寸。

It had missed the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls things such as balance and speech, by the same margin.

离小脑也是同样的半英寸，小脑是大脑中控制平衡和说话等功能的部分。

It had punctured the carotid sheath but didn't appear to have damaged the hypoglossal nerve or the vagus nerve, which control tongue function, the swallow reflex, and the voice box.

它刺穿了颈动脉鞘，但似乎没有损伤舌下神经或迷走神经，它们控制着舌头的功能，吞咽反射和喉部。

Also in the carotid sheath is the jugular vein. The skewer had torn the jugular, but it appeared to have sealed itself.

颈动脉鞘中还有颈静脉。尖杆撕裂了颈静脉，但它似乎已经自我修复。