Tag Archives: chest tube

On the 8th day

Optimistic about about being released tomorrow, December 24th from Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The surgeons looking after me are pleased with the progress but not not completely satisfied that the hole is healing.

Today brought an adjustment to the plan. Rather than testing the progress by clamping the chest tube, I was returned to suction until 2am tomorrow. An X-ray will follow to see if any of the “pneumo” remains.

Staying positive with a steady stream of visitors, I think I’ve done more socializing in the last 8 days than in the prior month.

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Not so air tight

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The rumpled mess on the left side of this image is my right lung as it looked on Wednesday morning, down to 20% it original volume.

“Spontaneous Pneumothorax” is now part of my vocabulary.

After two days of suction to keep my chest cavity / lung in proper shape, Dr Gunlickson ( surgeon) turned off the suction to test the lungs ability to hold air. After 18 hours my lung has lost a bit of volume, but there is no hole visible on the CT scan.

Christmas is five days away, Isabelle asked if I’ll be home by then… good question at this point.

Air tight

Collapsed lung on Tuesday December 16th.
Chest tube inserted on Wed Dec 17th.
The waiting game takes over two nights in the hospital hooked up to suction to keep my right lung inflated.

Wonderful visits with friends and family that slows down the pace of the holiday season. Great conversations with some favorite people.

Friday December 19th:
We are sorting out a path. The CT scan this morning did not show any holes, that’s good except that the machine I was hooked up to showed that I was not “holding air”. So we have been running gradual tests to see what’s going on.

they unplugged the suction machine that was keeping my lung inflated. X-rays at noon and 2pm to see how the lung was holding up. A few minutes ago they clamped the chest hose off to simulate its removal, we will check with an X-ray at 6pm to see if my lung stays inflated.

It’s like a seventh grade science fair project.

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