The Bronchoscopy

So...this has been quite the thing. We were originally told that the procedure was yesterday. So, we showed up at the hospital after rescheduling our whole day and getting a babysitter for Jack. Then the hospital told us that we had the day wrong. We were not exactly thrilled about that and found out it had been a miscommunication between the doctor's office and the hospital. But alas, we carry on. Luckily, Autumn is awesome and came back to watch Jack today. We got to the hospital at 10:30. They checked us in and then we waited (normal hospital procedure. Haha ). They brought us back and started filling Tony's info into the computer and making him sign all the documents. They explained what they would be doing and ok'd the sedation. (They took him to what they call "The Twilight Zone". Haha. He was not fully out, but still pretty out of it).  

They started by making him breathe through this thing. It numbing stuff for his throat. (He had to not eat or drink anything for 12 hours before, so by this point his throat felt pretty dry, and this did not help). 

After that they put this stuff up his nose that then drained down the back of his throat. It was a more powerful numbing solvent that tasted AWFUL! Tony almost threw up (but he didn't really have anything in his tummy TO throw up). Then they asked me to wait out in the lobby while they did the procedure. This was the doctor's notes on the procedure:

The bronchoscope was passed through the oral cavity; it was extended to the pharynx, larynx, trachea, right bronchial tree, and left bronchial tree. The views were excellent. The patient's tolerance of the procedure was good.

Usually they go through the nasal cavity, but the opening wasn't quite big enough. The tube that they stick down his throat is a little bit bigger than a pen. They went between the vocal chords and into both sides of the lung. They found some "secretions" in both lungs and suctioned them out (to be tested). They also sprayed some saline solution and sucked it out. Then they took a little brush and to another little sample in his lungs. Luckily, they did not have to cut out a piece of his lung, so it wasn't a full biopsy. They had enough stuff just from the secretions to determine what is causing the pneumonia. Once they started the actual procedure it only took 26 minutes.  

When I was able to come back into the room, Tony was still pretty out of it. The thing around his head is actually his oxygen level tester. His hands were too cold, so the machine wasn't getting an accurate reading. They had to give him oxygen through his nose because he was partially sedated and not breathing deeply enough on his own. They also had him hooked to a heart monitor. After the procedure was over his heart did a weird beat. The machine starting freaking out and then printed the abnormality.  The doctor was worried that it would happen again, so they decided to keep him for a while and call down a cardiologist. They did an EKG and a blood test. Luckily, everything came back normal so they let us take him home. (They were considering keeping him overnight). He also was still not getting enough oxygen on his own, so they had to slowly taper off the oxygen until he was awake enough to remember to breathe deeply. So, they let us go and we got home just before 3. Tony then napped for most of the day (after drinking quite a bit of water). He wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything until 2 hours after the procedure, which was actually before we even got home. 

We will have results from the test in 3 to 14 days. 

And these are the pictures of his lungs. They look kind of gross. If you are easily grossed out, then don't scroll down. 

The picture above is of his vocal chords and going into his trachea. The vocal chords are the white strips on either side. (You can see the one on the left clearly).

This is in his trachea and showing the right and left bronchial trees. (The right and left lung).

This is in his right lung. You can see how many times it branches. The branches get smaller and smaller and smaller. It is actually really cool. I have never seen in a lung like this before. 

Again, sorry if that grossed anyone out.

In other news, we got word back from a different test they did last week. It came back positive for c. difficile. It is a bacterium that effects the digestive tract. It is the reason why he has been so nauseous and has no appetite. You are most likely to get this if you are in the hospital for a long period of time, have a weakened immune system, or are on antibiotics for a long period of time. So.....check, check and check. But now that we know he has it, they prescribed him a medicine to treat it, and hopefully get rid of it. It happens because the natural bacteria that usually fight this sort of bacterium in his body are gone due to all the antibiotics he has had to take for....pretty much everything.