Mary Helen Dolan, of Houston, signs a large get well card during Tuesday evening's prayer vigil and concert for Emilio Navaira at Guadalupe Plaza Park just east of downtown.
Johnny Hanson: Chronicle
Midnight may be next milestone for Emilio.
Doctors expect to raise the Tejano star's body temperature back to normal by then.
By RAMIRO BURR
San Antonio Express-news
Doctors began gradually raising the body temperature of Tejano star Emilio Navaira as they worked Tuesday to save his life and minimize the impact of a severe brain injury caused by a weekend bus crash.
Navaira was in critical condition Tuesday at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in a medically induced coma.
The Grammy-winning singer and his band, Rio, had performed in Houston Saturday night and were headed back to San Antonio early Sunday morning when the tour bus he was driving hit traffic barrels on the West Loop 610 near U.S. 59. Authorities have said Navaira did not have the proper license to operate the bus.
The singer was thrown through the front windshield. After the accident, doctors chilled his body in an effort to stop swelling in his brain. On Tuesday, they began the process of raising his body temperature back to normal.
The process involved raising his temperature by one-quarter of a degree per hour, said Jennifer Hart, spokeswoman for Memorial Hermann. Navaira's temperature was expected to be normal, or 98.6 degrees, by midnight Tuesday, Hart said.
The procedure helps relieve pressure and has been shown to improve the outcome of brain injuries. It is part of a federally funded study surrounding hypothermia.
Physicians will continue to monitor the pressure in his brain and adjust his medication as necessary, she said.
During a prayer vigil and concert Tuesday evening at Guadalupe Plaza Park just east of downtown, Houston fans cheered when the singer's brother, Raul Navaira, proclaimed: "He'll be back."
Reached Tuesday afternoon as he was traveling to Houston, Navaira's manager, Joe Casias, said the singer's condition had not changed.
"He had a good night last night," Casias said. "They will check to see how he is reacting, but all the vital signs looked good. Of course, the doctors said he is still in danger, but everything is running as they said it would."
Members of Navaira's family — including his sons Diego and Emilio IV; daughter Emely; their mother Cindy, Navaira's first wife; and his brother, Raul returned to Houston on Tuesday.
Navaira's wife, Maria, remained at the hospital Monday. A family member said she "was taking it pretty hard. She doesn't want to leave his side."
Of the eight people on the tour bus, all but Emilio had been treated and released from hospitals by Monday afternoon.
Drummer Daniel Sandoval, a member of Navaira's band Rio, said Tuesday he was recovering from the Sunday morning crash at his home in Austin on Tuesday.
"As far as my head, I got 13 staples. I am doing OK. What is hurting is my back," Sandoval said. "It was really bruised. And I also got some 50 stitches in my back."
Sandoval said he was standing in the aisle by the bunk beds when the bus crashed. Sunday was his 26th birthday, and he had stayed up to celebrate.
"I don't remember anything. I blacked out," he said. "When I woke up I was trapped under the front floor. I was losing so much blood from my head I thought I was going to die.
"I don't know what happened," he added. "I don't know if Emilio fell asleep, but he is in my prayers. I don't blame him for nothing."
Chronicle reporter Mike Tolson contributed to this report.
rburr@express-news.net
