Hello everyone. Just a quick update.

Ethan had a slight setback last night after his last chest tube had been removed. It was still leaking fluid, but also air was at least escaping…and I was concerned that air was getting in too. I kept asking apparently so much that Ethan asked me to stop… The nurse and other staff were taking all precautions and re-dressing the area and really keeping an eye on it all night. Ethan was VERY uncomfortable and little sleep was had all around. They did a couple chest x-rays though the night, and at about 4am it was decided they would be taking him back to the CICU (Cardiac ICU) due to a small pneumothorax…air in the chest cavity. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/…/symptoms-causes/syc-20350367).

I loaded all our gear up, and we wheeled him over and got him settled. The thought was that he’d either heal up naturally, or need a new chest tube. As all the team on ICU checked him out, and x-ray came again, it was seen that the pneumothorax was fairly small, so it is appearing less likely for a new chest tube. We are awaiting another x-ray at about 10am for further analysis. Its unclear, but something may have caused a leak in the lungs during surgery, but it only came to light after the chest tube was removed.

I will keep you all posted, but we’re hopeful for minimally invasive treatment to resolve this.