Best wishes pour in for ailing Hilton Head chef Charlie Golson

Hilton Head Island chef Charlie Golson showed signs of progress Friday, a day after a long operation to tackle a mysterious infection along his spine.

Golson, 68, of Bluffton, has owned and operated the popular Charlie’s L’Etoile Verte restaurant for 34 years.

He is in the neurological intensive care unit at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where his wife, Nancy, said Friday they are weaning him off supplied oxygen.

“He could signal thumbs up when asked if he could tell they were touching his knees, toes, etc.,” Nancy Golson texted. “He raised his arms.”

The use of his legs remains a concern because they have not moved for a week.

Still unknown is the source of the infection, which could have been there for months.

“Just tell women to watch their men more closely,” Nancy Golson texted Thursday evening from the hospital, where she is surrounded by family and friends. “And as Patsy Hodge and I frequently say, ‘You never know what tomorrow holds in store.’ ”

Hodge works with Nancy Golson at her Bluffton store, Eggs ‘N’ Tricities.

Meanwhile, the public has swamped Facebook pages and the family’s Caring Bridge site with words of support.

Comments on The Island Packet’s Facebook page include:

▪  “Love Charlie’s and love Nancy’s great shop in Bluffton! Please know big fans in Athens GA are pulling for you!”

▪  “Such a wonderful man and family!! Praying!!”

▪  “Such a cool man! I wish you well my friend.”

▪  “Best wishes to Charlie and family. We have enjoyed your restaurant for so many years! Prayers for a speedy recovery!”

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Best wishes pour in for ailing Hilton Head chef Charlie Golson."