My dad has had a fever for about a week now, so they did a procedure on him today called Thoracentesis where they put a needle in his back to remove fluid for testing. This procedure is indicated when unexplained fluid accumulates in the chest cavity outside the lung. In more than 90% of cases analysis of pleural fluid yields clinically useful information. If a large amount of fluid is present, then this procedure can also be used therapeutically to remove that fluid and improve patient comfort and lung function (ref: Wikipedia). This may have been the case as my dad was constantly coughing last night, with a lot of sputum secretions coming out the trach.
My dad was very exhausted from the procedure. I was about to go to the hospital but decided to just go early in the morning since my dad was sleeping, as told to me by my mom. She mentioned that he was bleeding in the area where they performed the procedure. I was told that they used a local anesthesia during the procedure, and they used an ultrasound to maneuver around. I asked my mom to have the nurse call me if he wakes up tonight.
It is halloween in the U.S. today; usually I go out every year. It’s difficult to go out and have fun these days knowing my dad is in the hospital and always constantly thinking about what he is going through. This year I’ll stay home; though I was about to go see him, I’ll stay at home for now since he’s sleeping. Thank you for your continued prayers.