Ryan is completely off supplemental oxygen. He was taken off around noon yesterday. He has maintained superb oxygen saturation on his own, mostly pegged on 100% utilization. All labs came back well too. White blood count at 5.7K. All other results, including the metabolic panel, were well within normal range.
Ryan was extubated early yesterday afternoon. It’s great to see that tube out of his month and no longer being attached to a ventilator.
The doctor performed the bronchoscopy last night around 8:00PM. It was done bedside, so we had the opportunity to see Ryan’s lungs in real time. Both lungs were clear and healthy looking. The only mucus accumulation was at the bottom of the ventilator tube and this is expected since it has a tendency to catch…
We hope that all those who have not been naughty this year found what they wanted under the tree. Ryan had a restful night. He was placed on a continuous IV infusion of propofol (the “Michael Jackson” drug) to sedate him around 9:00 PM last night. Just prior, Ryan stormed hard. His body temperature went above…
The sputum (throat mucus) culture has grown out. Ryan grew a bacteria called “serratia marcescens”. This is an opportunistic bacteria that develops secondarily. Most everyone has this bacteria living in their respiratory tract. It seldom creates a problem unless “insulted”. What that means is it is colonized harmlessly in the throat but once disturbed, say…