Just before sunrise, the energy changed.

Only hours earlier, there had been cautious relief — small smiles, softer voices, a sense that maybe the worst had passed. But at 3:00 AM, Hunter’s monitors began telling a different story.

A sharp spike in fever.
The kind that makes nurses move faster.
The kind that lowers every voice in the room.

Overnight lab results raised concern about a possible deep infection beneath the muscle — the type trauma teams treat with urgency because it can escalate fast if it gains ground. At that level, timing isn’t just important. It’s everything.

Isolation protocols tightened.
Exhaustion settled into the chairs around the bed.
And the word “surgery” — the word everyone hoped wouldn’t return — quietly reentered the conversation.

A fifth operation is no longer off the table. Not scheduled. Not confirmed. But no longer dismissed.

Doctors are watching specific markers closely: inflammatory levels, white blood cell counts, tissue response. There is one key factor that will ultimately determine the next step — whether they move immediately to the OR or attempt aggressive medical management first.

That deciding detail hasn’t been made public.

For now, the next few hours carry weight. Fever trends. Lab shifts. Clinical response.

What changed during those 3:00 AM checks…
What sign raised the most concern…
And what must stabilize before surgery is reconsidered…

Everything hinges on what happens next.