D+68: Moving in the right direction

WBC 3.1
ANC 2728

Another day, another couple of steps forward. While things are still really weird and scary right now, the fact that we are seeing some measure of improvement is comforting. The odds of Ryan having a runaway infection (bacterial, viral, or fungal) decline with each passing day.

Ryan had a chest X-Ray this morning. Dr. Graham said that his right lung has improved and the left (site of the pneumonia) is more or less the same. That being said, both lungs have improved quite a bit since Ryan's CT last week. The BiPAP (pronounced: bye-pap) machine that Ryan is on seems to be working wonders. In a nutshell, the BiPAP helps him breathe by increasing the pressure in Ryan's lungs. Increased pressure causes them to "open up" more, similar to what we do when we yawn and take a deep breath in the morning. Ignoring the detailed mechanics (which I will probably cover in another entry), the BiPAP is improving Ryan's pulmonary function -- 'nuff said. One of the things that sucks about the BiPAP is the stupid Top Gun mask and all the associated tubing. What a pain! As grateful as I am to have the BiPAP around, I can't wait to get rid of it.

In addition to the BiPAP, we reposition Ryan constantly to try and encourage the crap in his lungs to move around (increasing the likelihood that it will be expelled). We use to limit Ryan to his back and sides, recognizing the difficulty he might have laying prone with all of the tubes sticking out of his chest. As it turns out, laying him on his stomach is the best thing we can do to help Ryan. So ... turning the clock back about three years, Ryan is getting "tummy time" again. Rest assured that he finds it just as distasteful as he did the first time around. One of the sad side effects of laying him prone is that he accumulates a ton of fluid in his face -- most of it in his eyes. The increased level of steroids leads to a significant amount of fluid retention, so we just have to live with it for now. If you're searching for a mental picture, think Rocky after 12 rounds with Apollo Creed.