Doctors and Family Hopeful Orinda Teen Will Breathe On His Own; Surgery Planned

Orinda teenager Ryan Buchanan will undergo surgery Monday afternoon in a procedure aimed at getting him off the respirator that has sustained him since he was buried in a sand tunnel collapse June 25.

Buchanan's father, Bret, who has kept the Miramonte High School student's friends apprised of changes in his condition via a family website, wrote Monday that Ryan, 17, "is in for a busy day."

"The doctors have dialed in his meds to a level they are comfortable with to allow the removal of the breathing and feeding tubes, which he has had in him since the beginning," Bret Buchanan wrote. "They will perform a tracheostomy for breathing, as well as a gastrostomy for feeding; all under the same anesteasia (sic)."

The family is hopeful that removal of the tubes the Orinda youth has had in him since his accident will "help reduce the risk of infection and possible pneumonia."

Bret Buchanan also wrote that his son's eyes were beginning to open this morning, and that he seemed to respond to the sound of his voice. He said that Ryan's surgery will be around 3 p.m. Monday.

Ryan Buchanan was on a beach outing with his church group when a sand tunnel he was building with other youths collapsed on him, burying him for more than ten minutes while friends and rescuers dug frantically to free him.

The Miramonte High School student had just wrapped up his junior year at school and a season playing varsity lacrosse when the accident occurred.