April 14th

The past few days have been rough. After a really good day of feeling stronger, early Saturday evening Brian began experiencing sharp pains in the upper left side of his back and chest. X-rays revealed that his left lung was partially collapsed. The fact that he has had several organs removed causes the body to react by filling the empty spaces with fluid. The doctors have suggested that the lungs are reacting "sympathetically" to the fluid build up in his abdomen. Along with the body's natural response to the chaos it has been through, the thorancentesis introduced air into the area around his left lung, which may have also been pricked during the procedure. The pressure from the fluid and the air caused a partial collapse of lung. To combat the problem, they inserted a tube in his chest to release the pressure of the air and fluid, allowing his lung to re-expand. The tube will be left in until he has several days with no drainage of fluid. The procedure was very painful and he continues to feel quite a bit of pressure pain, but they are managing it with medication.

Sunday was a great day! I spoke to the surgeon who confidently assured me that the complications Brian is experiencing are normal and in line with what he anticipated for Brian's recovery. He even decided to start Brian on a limited amount of fluids by mouth. Unfortunately, Brian had a rough Sunday night. Between the pressure pain from the chest tube and the constant interruptions of doctors and nurses, he did not get much rest. The next morning, his white blood cell count had increased again. A CT scan was ordered and dye was injected into the drain in his abdomen to determine if the drain was properly placed and to determine exactly where fluid was coming from. The results revealed that the placement of the drain was fine, and as the doctors suspected fluid was collecting in the spaces where his organs used to be. They will also be analyzing the fluid to determine whether or not any bacteria is growing in the fluid.

Monday night was much better and Brian got plenty of rest through the night and into the morning. He has been up walking. In fact, today he took about a thirty minute walk. The doctors are working to get him home by the end of the week, but they are waiting to see a consistent decline in his white blood cell count.

Amidst the complications, I see excellent signs of progress. Brian's system is handling the feedings from his G-tube very well. In fact they have increased the feeding to his goal amount which was 50 cc's per hour. He is getting stronger and more mobile. If this trend continues we hope to have him home by the weekend.

Once again, thank you all for your love and support.