Day 69: April 24
This poor kid cant catch a break. Z and I popped in this afternoon to say hello, and his oxygen levels were back up in the 70% range (he was hanging around the 30-40% the day prior) and his nurse mentioned something about having to go back up on their settings (She was not very helpful in giving me the scoop today.. It was like pulling teeth to get an update). They decided to get an X-ray to see what was going on. Turns out the top lobe of his right lung was partially collapsed, also referred to as atelectasis. Apparently when they tried to go down on his vent settings at 9am, the setting that helps keep his lungs inflated was turned down as well. They believe there may be some residual gunk from the pneumonia in that upper right lobe which caused it to collapse..
He also apparently spit up several times during the day shift. Overnight he only spit up once. His nurse during the day was not one that has ever had Ryker before, and seemed a bit lax when it came to keeping up with his needs. I’m wondering if he just came across more complications today due to the unfamiliarity. Unfortunately this kid seems to turn corners on a dime.. I have to look at getting more “primary” nurses on his list, those who are familiar with him since we’ll be here for quite some time..
Thankfully he did have a primary for his evening nurse again. Jordan is the sweetest, always great at giving us updates as soon as we call/walk in. She’s been his nurse the last two nights as well. We’re hoping he has a better evening, and hoping we can get that right lung opened up again.