Ryan ate two bowls of cereal and a piece of toast for breakfast. He was feeling great so Sydney and I headed out. We were feeling a bit cluttered in the RMH so we decided to clean the room. We cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed the floors, and repacked the suitcases as all of the clothes were just haphazardly thrown in them. Syd made the comment that she felt so much better when things were clean. Agreed. Maybe we can remember that sentiment when we go home.
Around 2pm I received a text from Brett telling me that something had happened while Ryan was in the restroom and the pain was so severe he couldn't lift himself off of the toilet. It escalated such that they had to bring in the big guns. They gave him an IV narcotic and Brett and the male nurse lifted Ryan off the toilet. So, lest you think that Brett cannot lift Ryan himself, let me explain. You cannot lift Ryan from underneath his arms. He has two incisions on the right side of his back making it impossible to put your arm up underneath his right arm. His chest tube is also on his right side. If you put your arm up underneath his left arm to lift him, it pulls the chest tube at a diagonal and it is extremely painful. Ryan also braces himself for any pain and becomes a stiff board. He is extremely hard to move in any circumstance because he cannot help you.
They were able to get him back on the bed and Brett said he was resting. Shortly after that text, within minutes, I received another text saying never mind. Ryan's pain was at an 8. We had definitely gone backwards. No Bueno.
The pain set several things in to motion - no food for loss of appetite, nausea because of narcotics on an empty stomach, and even more pain. Ryan was back to being miserable.
Here is the note I sent the family.
Update Day 7
This morning a chest xray was taken again and Ryan's lung stayed inflated through the night. Great news! The plan for today was to keep everything the same. Suction at level 10 and then turn off suction tomorrow morning.
Around 1:30 today Ry had an issue in the restroom. His pain level increased such that he couldn't lift himself off the toilet (sorry for the TMI). It is difficult when Ry is needing to be moved. You cannot put your arms underneath him because 1 - he has two incisions on his back so you can't use the left side, and 2 - he has the chest tube. If you try to lift on his left side, it pulls his chest tube. They had to give him a narcotic in his IV and Brett and Ryan's male nurse had to lift him. Brett sent me a text message telling me that Ryan was finally resting and then a few minutes later he said never mind - his pain is at an 8. More IV meds were given and rest was finally achieved.
They ordered another xray to make sure nothing was happening to cause the pain. The results came back and his lung had collapsed about 2mm - they are not concerned with the small change so they will not change course. Tomorrow is a new day. He'll receive meds here in a few minutes and we will hope for an uneventful night.
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