The past few days Jack has done great! His electrolytes finally returned to normal with the exception of his sodium, but he had low sodium before we came due to his diuretics. He was able to have his chest tube pulled today with just a small amount of fluid left on the right side. I seriously believe that little bit has been in there since 2018 and it’s a part of him now! Oddly, yesterday as I was reaching the end of the internet I read about a fir tree that grew in a Russian mans lung! So maybe he has something living in there! Ha! Anyways, today the plan was to release him locally tomorrow with a follow up on Thursday. But, there are now a few differing opinions. Lymphatics says to go with the discharge plan. Cardiology now wants to hold him for “observation” tomorrow because the chest X-ray reading said the fluid on the right was slightly worse. Some people said it was probably the angle of the X-ray and I think the quality of the X-ray was terrible as well. They take the X-rays with a machine they roll into their room while they are laying in their bed. Sometimes he’s more upright, arms up, arms down, slid sideways... every picture is so different. So tomorrow I asked to go to radiology dept. and get a good standing X-ray. He got one before the procedure so I think it will be a great comparison to see what’s left now. The only way I see it making sense to stay for “observation” is if it is truly a worsening X-ray. With us he will be more comfortable, he misses his brothers badly, it would be less exposure to all the hospital yuck and he will be back Thursday if he needed readmitted or another procedure. We will see, no one here seems to have a positive outlook. For example- When he was in the ICU they had him on 20 liters of high flow oxygen. We both tried, but Jackson finally had the right person and convinced her that his saturations would be the same on 5 liters as 20. She agreed to try weaning him, sats never changed a bit, and was shocked by it. That night he “self weaned” and took the nasal cannula completely off and I never made him put it back on because again, sats never changed. The next day they officially took him off. Her comments were that it was strange and she’d probably never see that again (eye roll)!

Well we are praying tonight he can be discharged tomorrow. We are all so homesick. Jack is so ready he tells me and then lists everyone of us, so we don’t leave anyone behind. 🥰