Mason's drainage in his right chest tube has been decreasing for the past 3 days; yesterday he only had 37 cc’s out and the two prior days only about 50 cc’s.
So this morning I was feeling optimistic that if his x-ray looked good they would consider pulling it out. This morning’s x-ray was at 5:30am (like EVERY morning; no sleep for this Momma or child) and rounds took place at 8:00am. The decision was to leave the tube in place for one more day. Of course I was disappointment but this is better than pulling it to earlier and having to replace it later. So I make the choice to have a good attitude even though by day this is getting harder to do – I need sleep, my own bed and a massage wouldn't hurt.
By this afternoon Mason’s chest tube drainage for the day was at 0. This kind of drop always sets up some alarms because they want to make sure that fluid is not building around the lungs and that the chest tubes are doing their job… So the Doctors went back and took a more in depth look at his morning x-rays and determined that the chest tube placement was off and was not working so they would need to immediately remove it to prevent air from entering his lung cavity.
At this time – My Mom was in the room sitting with Mason; I had left for a shower and Greg ran to the fed-ex store to send off some t-shirts. They gave him some additional pain medication and told her they would be removing it within the next 30 minutes. So my “shower” became non-existent so that I could be with him while they pulled the tube. Luckily Greg also made it back… He is the best at calming both Mason and myself down.
The tube was pulled around 3pm and immediately following they took Mason into x-ray (again). This is completely normal and the purpose is to see if he had air or fluid around his lungs.
Our step backwards – Since his tube placement wasn’t properly in place (reason unknown – probably due to how active he is; it some how got pulled out) and hadn’t been in place for awhile (possibly 24 hours) the x-ray showed that his right lung has started to collapse.
So our game plan for tonight (AND WE NEED PRAYERS THAT THIS WILL WORK) is to put him back onto an oxygen mask to try and expand his lung. If tonight he has problems breathing or tomorrow in his x-ray he does not show progress they will have to re-insert his chest tube. This would be a large step backwards and would be very painful for him.
The other area of concern is that his chest tube was not ready to come out and that fluid will continue to build around his lungs. If this happens they would also need to re-insert the chest tube (PRAYERS FOR THIS WOULD ALSO BE APPRECIATED).
Despite our set backs today Mason looks and feels wonderful. HE IS AMAZING!
When trying to convince him to wear his mask we explained that it would help make his lungs bigger so we would not need another tube(he fully understands the tube part)… His response “NO – I don’t want a bigger tummy” once he realized that his lungs did not mean his tummy he decided he would wear his mask like a champ!!!!
I of course am biased but he truly is the bravest little boy I know.
WE ARE PRAYING AND BELIEVING FOR GOOD NEWS TOMORROW! If we get our good news this could mean discharge within the next 48 hours!
Thanks for standing with us in faith!
1 comment:
So glad to know the news of the day! Mason, you are a champ. Goo dlookingin that mask! Kelsey, thank you for all the descriptions and explanations. We are with you in prayer and thoughts. I loved seeing your family Thanksgiving photo at the table. Beautiful. The support of the world right there in Mason'a room. amen.
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