Ryan Fischer isn't out of the woods just yet. Lady Gaga's dog walker is giving a health update more than one month after he was shot in Hollywood, California, when two of the singer's French bulldogs were stolen.
On Monday, he revealed he was readmitted to the hospital after his lung collapsed. He wrote on Instagram that he went through surgery to "remove portions of my lung."
"As I was being wheeled into surgery, I finally accepted my recovery had become anything but a straight line."
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Fischer was shot on Feb. 24 and was left "bleeding out on a sidewalk," as he put it. Gaga's dogs, Koji and Gustav, were safely recovered two days later after she offered a $500,000 reward.
At the time, the Grammy winner thanked Fischer: "You risked your life to fight for our family. You're forever a hero."
On March 1, he broke his silence to say he was "still in recovery from a very close call with death." Police have yet to arrest anyone in association with the crimes.
Entertainment News
Now, he's giving insight into his ongoing battle after he got his chest tube removed and initially left the hospital.
"The journey outside to recover with loved ones began," he wrote. "I was prepared to quietly start a path to healing from the emotional trauma and continue on my way. Life would be back to normal soon enough."
However, his recovery wasn't as smooth as he had anticipated.
"Unfortunately, the strange hissing and glugging coming from my chest every time I took a breath begged to differ with that assessment."
After visiting the doctor and getting an X-ray, he returned to the ER one week later. He learned that his lung had collapsed.
"Back in the hospital, my lung collapsed again despite the new chest tube poking at my insides. And then it collapsed again. And again," Fischer said. "Soon followed a team of people rushing in once more to fix the kink in my chest tube or whatever else was causing the collapse. It became quite clear that my lung was not healing, and the bullet wound had scarred my tissue like a burn."
He said it could take months for the hole to seal, if it ever does.
Following his recent surgery, he said, "I'm finding my way in the outside world where triggers are real and working through trauma is WAY more than dealing with one unfortunate moment in life, I look back at my exit from the hospital and smile that I continue to approach each day the same way.
"The journey is hard, it's assuredly painful... And somewhere within that I find the absurdity and wonder and beauty this life offers us all," Fischer said.
In his health update, the dog walker also gave insight into the night of the incident.
"Several nurses and doctors told me how they had been in the room when I came in with my gunshot. How they didn't think I was going to make it.
"My mind transported me to that night when I was evaluating the shock and concern on their faces as blood spurted out of me on to them, the table, and floor (and I tried to bring levity to the situation by making jokes and obvious statements like, 'Well that doesn't look good,' as they raced around attempting to stabilize me)," he said. "I had truly been confronted with my mortality."
Gaga's makeup artist, Sarah Tanno, commented on his latest Instagram post to offer him support, saying, "You are so strong."
As for Gaga, she has been filming "House of Gucci" in Italy with Adam Driver.
But the distance didn't stop her from celebrating her 35th birthday on Sunday. Her boyfriend, Michael Polansky, sent her a towering bouquet of flowers, and the "Poker Face" artist shared a photo of the gigantic gift with the caption, "When your bf sends you all the flowers in Rome for your birthday. I love you honey [heart emoji] I can't wait to be home with you and our dogs, that's all I need."
