He said. She said

Yesterday we were misinformed. We were told that his lung collapsed because of a trial run to see if he could hold his own without the chest tubes. The truth is a little more complicated. Allow me to try and explain: When dad was first admitted to the hospital he was very sick. Yes, with the flu and pneumonia, but on top of all that, his right lung had collapsed; which is why he was in so much pain. So, his breathing was compromised not only because of the fluid in his lungs but also because of the collapsed right lung. When he was put on life support, they were artificially holding open his lungs so that they would not collapse again.

When he woke up, a few days later they did a tracheotomy. This allows them to control the amount of work he can do per day. As his strength builds they try to let him mostly breathe on his own for a few hours each day. Some days are better than others. I think the longest he has gone with the trach collar (equipment that allows him to practice breathing) is 9 hours? But usually its more like 4 or less.

They have him on a cocktail of medication that has its own negative side effects, one of which is corticosteroids. The positive side of this treatment is that it reduces swelling in the lungs and supposedly makes it a little easier to breath. However, if a patient is on these for any length of time, what happens is the lung tissue becomes very hard. Again, hard to explain, but I will do my best. When the lung tissue becomes hard, (combined with the damage that was already done to the lungs just from things like the pneumonia itself, not to mention the damage from the ventilator and not being able to move for 41 days…still combined with a whole host of other things…) it becomes extremely hard to breathe. Imagine, for instance that you were punched in the solar plexus. You know that feeling when the breath is knocked out of you? That is what happens every time dad takes a breath. He has to work incredibly hard to keep his lungs from collapsing every single breath he takes. It’s a battle he has to fight every inhale and exhale. By the time they put him back on the ventilator, he is completely worn out!  

He has at least somewhat of a collapsed lung every single day. The nurse said that if they can’t get his lungs to work properly quite soon, they may have to do surgery. The procedure they referenced is called a lung reduction. From what I understand, it is a highly invasive procedure in which they cut open his chest and cut out the bad parts of his lungs, (up to 30% from each lung). Optimally, he would be left with a better functioning albeit smaller lung. This is by no means set in stone yet, but he is not out of the woods by any stretch whatsoever. He has a long road of recovery ahead of him.

Hopefully, this would help you all understand kind of the technicalities that are going on with him right now. To everyone who is praying and helping and keeping us in their thoughts, you are incredibly appreciated. I don’t feel like we say it enough. But just know that all of you.

Much love,

Hannah