When all else goes wrong, look for something Wright

The things you'll do when the Dr. pulls your shirt up to change the dressing on your chest tube!

Great friends Derrick & Breanna Lake

Friend, fellow hunter & former SF 49'er Eric Wright

Tuesday brought more confusion, a lack of answers, some more wonderful visitors and some hope for a last minute, pre-Christmas fix.
Luke started early with a couple more x-rays (one from the front and one from the side), then the Dr's came for another visit. There was very little change from Monday's x-rays and we were still searching for answers. We discussed a whistling/leaking sound that we had heard in his chest tube starting Monday night, but we could not duplicate it. One thing they had noticed on the x-ray was that the upper chest tube (pigtail) had been slowly inching its way out of the chest and was most likely not providing any suction for the lung anymore. They decided to remove it right then (much to Luke's dismay) and that left him with only the main (original) tube in his chest.
While we discussed our mutual desire to avoid surgery, we also made sure to explore all options. They replaced the remaining suction tube and the water seal device, just to make sure we could eliminate the possibility of there being a leak. We also made arrangements for a representative from Atrium (water seal device manufacturer) to drive from Concord (60 miles) for his assessment of the equipment set up. Everything checked out fine.
We were once again visited by the Dr's in the evening, including the attending surgeon, Dr. Butler, whom we had met yesterday. She said that when she closely reviewed Tuesday mornings lateral (side) x-ray, she noticed that there was a noticeable pleural space in front of the lung. This had not been picked up in previous x-rays. All attention had been focused on the area at the top of the lung which had not yet re-inflated and is easily noticeable from the front x-ray. Now this newly found issue gives us the most hope for our well needed miracle. On Wednesday, the tentative plan is that the Dr's will consult with the IR (Interventional Radiology) team and see if they are all thinking the same thing. Then they will most likely go in the front of his chest and do another pleurodesis on the lung; this time in the front instead of the top. This will be done with a liquid (antibiotic) and will cause the lung to become irritated and inflamed, which allows it to scar and stick to the chest wall when re-inflated. Also, when there is a hole in the lung, they try to get the lung up against the wall asap, because the hole will seal quicker. That is what we know so far.

We are hoping and praying for this to be the procedure that gets Luke out of here.

Thank you for all of the prayers.....they do not go unnoticed by the Browns.

Love,

KAAL