Since last Sunday (26th October) Massimo has been getting better and better and last Wednesday (or thereabouts) he came off the ventilator and onto CPAP. He was on CPAP a couple of days before they put him just on oxygen for a few hours at a time, and then on Saturday he was just on oxygen permanently. Yesterday he was only on 0.1 litres of oxygen a minute when the day staff took over and they took him off the oxygen at about 8.30 am and he managed brilliantly all day. As far as various other medication is concerned he is not on any more of his muscle relaxants and he has been weaned off his morphine gently over the last week. He is also being weaned off his midazolam – the sedative that he was on for a long while and which he seemed to suffer withdrawal symptoms from last time he was doing well. This is due to be stopped completely today and we must hope that he doesn’t suffer withdrawal symptoms again this time round. Massimo was due his cocktail of chemo and this was administered at about 6 pm yesteday on PICU.
The wee man was then transferred at around 9 pm last night from PICU to Freddie Hewitt Ward. Although he seems so much better the reason for him going blue has not been resolved. The longer length tube was not a success.
When the adjustable length tube was used all those weeks ago it was found to be very difficult to place in exactly the right spot because there is so little leeway between the lump/kink (caused by the tumour pushing in from the outside) and the part where the windpipe divides into two for the lungs. When Mr Daya placed the tube the first time, Massimo fiddled and pulled at the tube, shifting it only by half a centimetre but enough to bring the tube just above the kink and therefore making it even harder to breathe as the kink blocked off half the tube. We tried to reposition it twice but both times it took a small movement by Max to shift the tube and worsen the situation, so it was decided that the normal tube was a much safer and better bet and the idea of a longer length tube has been shelved. We need the chemo (and to a certain extent the steroids) to do its stuff and for the tumour to start receding in order to really solve the problem. The big question is: how long will that take and will he stay in hospital in the meantime or will he come home? We still don’t know.