Ryan Triggs update

[Scott Tichenor]

Quick note to let those folks who are friends and acquaintances of mandolin and guitar builder Jim Triggs family that their son Ryan is currently in intensive care where I work at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, KS. Ryan is obviously in critical condition and unable to breath on his own at this point. I have little other details at this time. Please keep Ryan and family in your thoughts and prayers. Jim has asked me to set up a link from the Cafe where he and one or two friends can provide updates on Ryan's condition. I'm placing it in this administrative area so that only a few select folks can make these updates. If you have access to Jim's cell phone it's best to not attempt to call them or the hospital to inquire. I'm headed to the NAMM show in Nashville tomorrow but intend to keep in close touch with Jim and update this as necessary along with a couple of other folks.

[Scott Tichenor]

Just had lunch with Jim and here's likely the only update I'll make today. Jim wanted to let everyone know that Ryan has been sick for about a week but it was Friday that he was admitted to the hospital after he got much worse. Right now they do not know what is wrong with him but are running tests. They think it's going to be a fairly long time before he comes out of this.

Although they've asked for no calls or emails, they said anyone that would like to is welcome to send a card to the following address:

Ryan Triggs
University of Kansas Hospital
3901 Rainbow Blvd.
Kansas City, KS 66160

I'll be in daily contact with Jim and Rich McConnell who some of you know and we'll try to keep everyone posted.

For some of you who do not know Jim and Ryan but may be reading this, Jim is well known in the musical community and served as the Gibson custom shop manager for a number of years and also artist relations at the Opry in Nashville. I'm probably leaving things out but he's especially regarded for his archtop guitar work and fine mandolins. They have a web site (http://www.triggsguitars.com/) but Jim said he doesn't expect to be seeing email or doing any work for quite some time.

[Scott Tichenor]

Sorry for the delay in updating. Was on the road travelling today. Talked to Jim a few hours ago and here's the latest:

They've taken quite a bit of fluid from his lungs late yesterday and that seems to have helped. His temperature is still high but now down to around 103. Doctors are optimistic but it's important to stress he's still on a ventillator. Jim said they've shaved him today but decided to leave him with a goatee. That should be a nice surprised for him when he wakes up. Wonder what the medical bill for that procedure will be? Should talk to Jim tomorrow morning and hopefully have another update.

[Scott Tichenor]

No updates as of about 9:00 a.m. today. Tried calling Jim a few minutes ago and left a message for him to contact me as I'm out of town at the moment. If I hear back I'll post an update this afternoon.

[Scott Tichenor]

Spoke to Jim around lunch today. He communicated the same information Rich McConnell shared in an email today and I thought it'd be OK to repost what he wrote below. Jim also said alot of support is coming in and he can't begin to express the gratitude for this. Here's Rich's note below:

Just got off the phone with John Triggs, Ryan's Grandpa. It has been another wild day for the family. This morning the Doctors were prepared to do surgery on one of Ryan's lungs, then changed their mind and set off with another medical defense strategy. They have identified the bacteria...as it was explained to me "the family"...but have not identified the genis....Ryan is 1/100,000 of infected folks with this type bacteria. John said that Jim and Maryanne signed some sort of paper that allows the Med Center to use the information from Ryan's condition to be part of a case study. John said Ryan is going to end up in a medical book from this....
John also reports that Jim and Maryanne are in good spirits and have a positive attitude and they appreciate all the support and prayers.
Thats all I know..........

[Scott Tichenor]

No word this a.m. as of 8:00 but it's my understanding Ryan will likely be in surgery this morning to really take care of the fluid around his lungs. Will fill you in more as time permits if I get a call from Jim.

[Scott Tichenor]

Just talked to Jim. Ryan spent most of the late morning and afternoon in surgery and while I don't know enough about the procedure to pass much on Jim said this should give him an added chance for recovery. He's still in very serious condition but the doctors are optomistic at this point. It was a very long day. Apparently in surgery from around 11 to around 4:30. Nothing more to add. Jim said he'd call me around 10:00 tomorrow morning. I'm at NAMM in Nashville at the moment and the word has gotten out about Ryan here with friends and acquaintances. Plenty of folks said to extend their best wishes, prayers and thoughts.

[Scott Tichenor]

Had a phone message from Jim late yesterday I missed and we didn't get to talk. Rich McConnell posted this via an email and I thought it appropriate to share. I'll be travelling most of the day today and won't post again. I'll be at work tomorrow though and will probably have lunch with Jim so I'll try to provide some additional information then. Note below from Rich:

Howdy;

Just talked to Jim....Ryan's Temp is 99.....it goes up and down, but Jim feels the procedure of removing the fluid from the lungs and his throat has helped the temp fall and not go nearly as high as it did the other day. Of course Ryan is still sedated and on the ventilator. He is in a special bed that changes positions automatically to assist in the lungs in healing. Jim and Maryann are very happy with the quality of care Ryan is getting..........

Jim and Maryanne are in good spirits. They report that Ryan's buddies got his stuff moved and the appartment cleaned up. Jim thanks everyone who offered to help....they both appreciate the prayers and encouragement.

That is the latest.

Rich

[Scott Tichenor]

Having lunch with Jim today and will provide an update after that. Yesterday we chatted while I was on the road and he said Ryan made some fairly important steps forward the past 48 hours. The doctors are hopeful that if this continues to make the same amount of progress today that they could attempt to take him off the ventilator as early as Tuesday. Of course this could have changed since we spoke yesterday afternoon.

[Scott Tichenor]

Nothing new to report as a result of lunch today but what I said in the previous note stands. Still making progress but he's still a very sick young guy and quite a ways to go. They are starting to take the steps necessary to ultimately wean him off the ventilator so that's a positive.

[Scott Tichenor]

Update from Jim this evening. Ryan is scheduled for surgery tomorrow some time between 10 and 1 they think. Sounded like more routine work to drain fluids around the lungs and heart. I'll find out more from Jim in the morning.

[Scott Tichenor]

Ryan was in surgery for about an hour today. Given that they were doing procedures on heart and lungs that sounds quick to me, but I'm just a mandolin player, not a Dr. Nothing much to report. Jim said he'd call me this evening.

[Scott Tichenor]

Receivied a call around 7:00 last night from Jim. Still minor improvements but nothing major to report. Ryan did well coming out of surgery. Still making progress but a ways to go yet. Will try to provide an update later this a.m. if I hear from Jim.

[Scott Tichenor]

Having lunch with Jim today and will provide an update if there's anything. We chatted last night. Physicians are still taking small steps in preparation for Ryan's removal from the ventilator but he's still in fairly serious condition (obviously) and will likely be in ICU for at least a couple more weeks assuming all goes well.

[Scott Tichenor]

Just had lunch with Jim and Mary Anne. Jim had composed this note on paper and asked me to post it.

-----------------

Hello friends and family. Just a quick thank you for the cards, prayers, thoughts and love you all have been sending our way the last couple weeks regarding Ryan's current situation. He is hanging in there but still has a tough road ahead of him. Ryan is receiving the best possible care here at KU Med Center. Our circle of friends has now gotten larger as many of the doctors and nurses have gotten to know us well in the last couple of weeks. From the information we are receiving there are now people praying and thinking of Ryan all over the world. Mary Ann and I wish we could talk to many of our closest friends and family but it's just not possible right now. Scott Tichenor has made all our lives easier by posting the Ryan update on his site. We are all thankful for what Scott is doing for our family.

Please keep Ryan in the back of your mind as he is not out of the woods yet. The best we can hope for is a long recovery process and right now hope for baby steps and a few toddler steps here and there, always moving forward! Ryan is in God's hands now--we are just waiting for the universe to handle the details.

Best wishes to all of you.

Jim and Mary Ann Triggs

[Scott Tichenor]

Just talked to Jim late this afternoon. Ryan is scheduled for another routine minor (that's what Jim called it) surgery on his neck tomorrow. He thinks Ryan is starting to be more aware of where he is and has been more restless and struggling a bit more. He thinks, and I'd agree with this, that Ryan is aware of the "surgery" discussions going on about him now and that may be upsetting him. What a long road this is. Hoping for strength for Jim and Mary Anne through this process as well as for Ryan's well being.

[Scott Tichenor]

Had a call on my answering machine. Jim said Ryan came through surgery well. Doctor said it was a good surgery and both lungs are working much better now and particularly better than last week so that is encouraging. Jim said no more updates today are likely but he'd touch base with me tomorrow.

[Scott Tichenor]

Just spoke to Jim. Ryan has been breathing on his own a bit. They're alternating that and the ventillator in preparation for eventually weaning him off. He said he's been responding to he and Mary Anne when he's awake but there's not been much of that. One of the physicians said it looks encouraging of late but Jim reminded me that's to be kept in perspective. Not much new. There are some tests being performed today and he said he'd update me later. That's about all for now. Jim said if Ryan was awake enough that he'd probabyl recognize me if I came to visit him.

[Scott Tichenor]

Missed receiving a call from Jim last night. Said they were still doing extended sessions of having Ryan breath on his own. We'd thought last week he'd be off the ventilator by now but some of the operations have slowed that so we're hoping this is the week. Typically hear from Jim mid-morning and will update then.

[Scott Tichenor]

Jim said Ryan continues to make small progress. They're slowing increasing the time he's spending off the ventilator and they think no more surgeries will be required unless something changes. Also, he's taking less medication to keep him sedated so these are all positive steps on a long journey. We can only hope the good news continues in this direction.

[Scott Tichenor]

Jim said Ryan has been breathing on his own since 5 a.m. Still heavily sedated until they can bring him around and fully remove the tube but this is a promising development. Jim said good vibes picked from the doctors. Said he may call later today.

[Scott Tichenor]

They attempted to take Ryan off the ventilator but decided to wait a few more days. There are certainly complications with being on one this long and it was felt better to let him heal a bit more. Bit of an up and down day but this was never going to be an easy affair. As Jim says, every day is Monday, but overall progress is happening. Just going to take some time.

[Scott Tichenor]

Wow. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday wasn't such a great day but today quite an improvement. Ryan is actually awake and communicating with Jim and Mary Anne. Jim said Ryan enjoyed hearing that Rickie Williams had retired and that Shaq was traded to Miami and that Lance had won the Tour. Jim told him his birthday was tomorrow and he said Ryan just shook his head and closed his eyes. Lungs much clearer today and the doctors were pretty amazed at the overnight change. Still a long ways to go but some visible progress.

[Scott Tichenor]

I haven't received a call from Jim today but Rich McConnell has been emailing updates. This one is particularly positive in my opinion:

John Triggs just called ( 1:20 PM Sunday Aug.8)......he said "that Ryan is doing good...he made it through his birthday. No fever the last day. And the surgeon says the tubes start to come out the first of the week.....they put a trake in his throat.....Ryan beat Jim at cards yesterday....don't know if Ryan is a good player and Jim is not..or what. Things sure looking better than a week ago." Those are words right from Grandpa.....

That all I know.

later

Rich

[Scott Tichenor]

Wow, what a difference a week makes. I took a couple of days off last week and worked from home last Friday so I hadn't seen Ryan in a week. Went up around 9:00 just now. Jim and Mary Ann were there. He was asleep when I got there but woke up after about ten minutes and made eye contact with me and smiled, held up his hand to shake mine so I got to visit with him for awhile and although he's still not able to talk due to whatever is hooked up to his mouth we were able to communicate quite well. Great to see him with his eyes open. He's lost a fair amount of weight through this but probably the most striking is to see him minus most of the fluid build-up your body takes when you're that ill. I hung around for about ten minutes and at that point a bunch of nurses were convening to try to get him to sit on the side of the bed with their assistance. I didn't ask but my guess is this was the first time to do that in quite some time. I left as they were gloving up, etc. and I needed to get back to work. So, all in all, pretty major progress but still a ways to go.

[Scott Tichenor]

Just back from lunch with Jim and he wrote this out for me to post here:

Family & Friends:

Thanks again to you all who have been following Ryan's stay in KU Med Center. Your prayers and thoughts for Ryan and our family have been greatly appreciated. Ryan's birthday was Saturday, August 7th. He was awake much of the day. He looked at about 30 birthday or get well cards throughout the day. He and I played Gin in the afternoon. Ryan was beating me at the time he nodded off and took a nap. The doctors were amused and later mentioned to me that I must be a really bad card player to be getting beat my someone that's being sedated.

Ryan has made much progress since last Thursday evening. We hope he had his last surgery yesterday (installing a tube in his trachea) to hook him up to the ventilator. We feel he will be off this breathing machine in the next couple of days. This machine has helped keep Ryan alive the last 3 1/2 weeks. In the last 2 1/2 weeks Ryan has been to the OR 5 different times for over 10 different surgeries. We are crossing our fingers and hope Ryan will be out of ICU later this week. He has a long rehab process ahead of him.

Some up here in the ICU have mentioned Ryan's recovery the last few days as a miracle. Mary Ann and I believe so but you don't generally hear that word from health professionals.

Scott brought many of the notes posted on the Cafe site yesterday and he gave them to Ryan. After Scott left Ryan read though them. He wrote us a note afterwards that read "I can't comprehend". I think he understood the notes but is trying to figure out why they were on the site. Keep in mind all of you know more about his situation than Ryan does at this time. As he comes off sedation we'll try and explain all of this to him. Thanks again to all of you for making this easier for our family.

Bless you all.

Jim and Mary Ann Triggs

[Scott Tichenor]

Sorry no updates yesterday. Had coffee with Jim around 9:00 (Wed.). No calls from him after that. On Tueday they had Ryan sit in a chair for about 20 minutes which was another major move. Jim said yesterday a.m. they were looking at disconnecting some of the drainage tubs from various places (I'm not a Dr., and I don't play one either). Off today waiting for my daughter to wake up so we can do a bunch of stuff together so may not be able to update until later today provided Jim calls.

[Scott Tichenor]

Ryan sat in a chair for an hour yesterday. A couple of days ago he could only make 20 minutes. He also stood briefly with support. Jim said they're not letting him get much rest right now but I think this is all part of the plan. This is really a difficult period for Ryan because medications that have relieved pain are being reduced and all of the steps to get him out of ICU are being taken. Remember, while we've been reading this the past few weeks he hasn't had a chance to deal with it emotionally so this he's right at the beginnings of the real wake-up call and dealing with what's happened. Hope to hear from Jim some time late this morning.

[Scott Tichenor]

Ryan is able to talk finally. Apparently they've pulled enough tubes, etc. out of him that he's now able to carry on a conversation. This morning Jim said he was able to shave himself. They think possibly Monday or Tuesday he'll likely go from ICU into a regular hospital unit. Possibly starting to eat on his own early next week too, at least that's the goal of the docs. Good start to the weekend. Let's hope for more of the same. Looking forward to seeing him Monday.

[Scott Tichenor]

Jim says Ryan is likely to move to a non-ICU room tomorrow. After that they think it may be pretty soon before he's allowed to go home. Jim said no has told him but they assume his condition is no longer critical since he's talking, being allowed to walk with assistance a little, shave himself, shower (sitting down mind you), etc. Still a long road to recovery but what a relief to see what appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

[Scott Tichenor]

Jim said Ryan is eating his first solid food today after some jello and soup over the weekend. He's definitely off the critical list now although I joked that now that he's eating hospital cafeteria food he could be back on it fast. He is still in ICU but mainly because they can't get a regular room convenient to the current location. They've been told he may be able to go home by the end of the week. That'd be five weeks since this all began. He's still dealing with a lot of changes and the fact that he's not going to be 100% for some time. That's about it. Hope to possibly see him tomorrow. Too much going on at work today to try to get over there.

[Scott Tichenor]

I'm happy to say that this thread may be winding down. It's starting to look like an imminent discharge date and home for the remaining recovery possibly by the weekend. Went and visited Ryan before lunch. He's looking quite well, albeit about 20 lbs. less than pre-illness. Had a nice chat and he said with some assistance he'd walked about half way around the unit. Obviously still sort of in shock about all of this but physically he's making noticable improvements by the day. Eating real food--well, at least the stuff they serve here, able to take care of himself, and watch TV, etc. Has one remaining tube/monitor. That's all for now.

[Scott Tichenor]

Not much to add. Jim left a message on my phone last night that Ryan had climbed a few stairs with assistance and that he was eating much better. They're discussing his release but no date yet. A few days ago they were thinking possibly today but I think Monday is probably more likely. Just my guess. The fact that Jim is calling less frequently is in itself a good sign. He said Ryan is very anxious to get out of there, get home, and start eating some real food and getting back to his life.

[Scott Tichenor]

Here's some news we've been waiting for. Ryan is being discharged this afternoon. Jim said they'll call me on the way home. Jim asked that people don't call the house or drop by for awhile as they'll be busy taking care of Ryan. Jim also said to pass on that he likely won't be able to work at all for at least 30-60 days while Ryan recovers at home. There's a lot of physical therapy and follow-up visits to physicians and many more duties that will keep Jim really busy. Mary Ann has missed a lot of work with her employer and will need to get uncovered at her job for some time as well.

So, as Jim says, this is the end of Chapter One of a Nine-chapter book. May not post anything further but will certainly leave this thread out here for the duration.

[Scott Tichenor]

Forgot to post that I had a gig last night and Ryan showed up with his folks. Walking fairly well but he got tired after about an hour. Still, pretty amazing to see him out. Jim said they'll post a final thanks here and some point and we'll likely archive this.

[Flatpick]

Excellent Scott.... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Flatpick