A New CAT

Well, the plan changed a bit today. Instead of doing a bronchoscopy, the doctors and surgeons got together and decided they'd rather have a new CAT scan. This scan should provide a clear view of his anatomy and give an indication of whether the artery-constricting-a-bronchus issue is still a problem. Ideally, the CT will show a collapsed left lung, a heart shifted toward the midline, a well-inflated right lung, and a pulmonary artery that is nowhere near his perfectly round bronchus. I won't get into all the other possibilities, because none of them are particularly expected, but other findings may change their course of action. Assuming they find everything in its appropriate position, they'll schedule the surgery for later this week or next week.

They managed to schedule the CT for this afternoon (around 5pm). They had to wheel him down the hall to the CT machine, perform the test, and then wheel him back with all of his machines in tow. He behaved well throughout the process, and continues to be stable and have good numbers. In addition, he got a room upgrade when he returned the unit....he's back in the big room that he had several weeks ago. Last time he was only there for two days before being moved out, so we won't get our hopes up, but it's nice to be able to spread out a bit. There's plenty of room for all his machinery, plus space on both sides of his bed. We've been staring at the back of his head for a few weeks (the machines took up the other side of the bed), so now we have better viewing angles.

Even though the CT was done today, the results won't be back right away....they have to be reviewed by a radiologist and then given to the doctors. Last time it took two days, though we hope to hear back sooner than that. More info as we get it....