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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM, where we instantly improve the lives for Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, real power, real control and so that you can influence decision making fast, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
In the last BLOG I talked about
Charlie Gard, The Little Baby Who Wasn’t Allowed To Die At Home!?
You can check out the last BLOG by clicking on the link here.
In this week’s blog I want to share with you
The 9 myths of being a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care revealed! (PART 1)
Having your loved one critically ill in Intensive Care is usually a scary, frightening, overwhelming and challenging event. It’s also an event where most Families of critically ill Patients have preconceived ideas about what it means to be critically ill in Intensive care. Most of those preconceived ideas are myths and don’t reflect reality!
A great deal of the angst, the fear and the frustration comes from not knowing what to expect, not knowing what to do and not knowing what questions to ask.
Therefore, after nearly 20 years Intensive Care nursing experience in three different countries, where I literally worked with thousands of critically ill Patients and their Families and where I also worked as a Nurse Unit manager in Intensive Care for more than five years, I have found there are 9 myths that Families of critically ill Patients commonly think of being true or think of being real and it’s time to shed some light on those myths and it’s time for you to discover the truth about those myths and what it really means to be a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care!
- Myth#1- Being a Patient in Intensive Care means knocking at “deaths door”.
Whilst this is true in some instances and can not be denied, the vast majority of Patients in Intensive Care leave ICU alive. For example in the United States around 3-4 Million people get admitted to Intensive Care per year and mortality rates(the number of people who have died) are around 8-10 %. In 2010, approximately 125,000 admissions have been registered to come to ICU in Australia and “only” 6.5%, or approximately 8,000 of those admissions have been lethal and have actually die. Those statistics are similar in other developed and first world countries.
It’s also noteworthy to say that most literature suggests, the severity of the critical illness is a deciding factor if a critically ill Patient can survive Intensive Care or not and it’s not their age.
To illustrate this further, the very elderly(>80 years) “only” represent about 5-10% of all Intensive Care admissions and yet have a survival rate of ~85%. Therefore the younger Patients are, the higher chances of survival, depending of course on the nature of the critical illness.
Statistics from the ANZICS 2010 report “Centre for outcome and resource evaluation Annual report 2010” Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society.
Nevertheless, one of the biggest, if not the biggest frustration for families in Intensive Care that we hear about at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM is that Intensive Care teams are negative.
They paint the “doom and gloom” picture from the very start of a Patient’s journey in Intensive Care to dampen Patients and their families hope of a successful recovery.
As you can see, the statistics don’t support the Intensive Care team’s negativity and if anything, everybody should be hopeful of a successful recovery, because the statistics suggest that the vast majority and more than 90% of Patients in Intensive Care survive their stay!
Related article/video:
Therefore, a fair question to ask is why are Intensive Care teams negative if the statistics and the research don’t support it?
Well, again after nearly 20 years Intensive Care nursing experience in three different countries, where I literally worked with thousands of critically ill Patients and their Families and where I also worked as a Nurse Unit manager in Intensive Care for more than five years and now also in my own counselling, consulting and advocacy practice at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM the evidence is crystal clear that the only way for an Intensive Care team to manage expectations, manage their expensive and “in-demand” Intensive Care beds, as well as managing their financial budget and other resources such as staff and equipment is to be negative from the start. It’s also a tool to “manage” and intimidate families in Intensive Care right from the start.
The fact of the matter is that if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and if you “buy” into the negativity of the Intensive Care team, you are doomed!
Related article/video:
The fact of the matter is that if you don’t question, if you don’t do your own research and if you are intimidated by the “perceived power” and the “perceived authority” of the Intensive Care team you belong to the 99% of families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care who make no informed decisions, have no peace of mind, no control, no power and no influence!
Therefore, you need to question, you need to do your own research and you need to get 1:1 counselling, consulting and advocacy here at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM so that you can very quickly make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence!
Staying positive and fighting the negativity from the Intensive Care team will be one of your biggest challenges, especially if you don’t question and if you are intimidated.
The good news is that you have come to the right place here at INETNSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and we give you all the tools to make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence quickly whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care!
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711206/
http://www.anzics.com.au/Downloads/ANZICS%20CORE%20Annual%20Report%202015.pdf
- Myth#2- Being a Patient in Intensive Care means that decision making regarding the medical treatment is entirely out of my or my Family’s hands
The number one rule in Intensive Care as well as in real life is that everything is negotiable.
If you don’t believe that you have a mindset problem! Again, here at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM you get all the tools to change your mindset and therefore change the results that you’ll get whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care!
Whilst there are decisions that can only be made by the Intensive Care team, it still doesn’t change the fact that everything is negotiable. In order to get to the point where you can make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence quickly, you need to look for the right answers and you only get the right answers if you are asking the right questions.
This website(www.INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.com ) in particular, is aiming at giving you ‘in-depth’ and behind the scenes insight that’ll help you to make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence in a situation where you most likely feel like you are out of your comfort zone in a big way!
The truth of the matter is you feel that other people are in control of the situation. In order to change that situation and in order to change the dynamics, so that you can make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence you need to continually educate yourself and quickly learn about what is happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care, namely the politics, the intrigue, the dynamics, the hierarchy and the psychology at play in Intensive Care.
Once you have a good grip of those forces and how those forces impact on your critically ill loved one’s care and treatment, that’s when the dynamics change in your favour and that’s when you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power and influence.
Recommended:
- Myth#3- Being a Patient in Intensive Care means suffering and pain all the way along during the ICU stay
The reality is that most critically ill Patients do only vaguely remember their time in Intensive Care, if it has been for a number of days, or sometimes weeks or months. Most Patients do not remember their time in Intensive Care.
The reason for that is that they are often sedated for mechanical ventilation, which is also known as an “induced coma” or a “medically induced coma”. In order to get into an “induced coma”, critically ill Patients require medication that gets them into the coma. In an “induced coma” Patients are generally pain free and comfortable. If Patients do show any signs of discomfort, usually they get even more sedation, including pain medication to increase comfort and tolerance for the treatment.
Related article/video:
If a critically ill Patient does not require sedation to be in an “induced coma”, the Patient’s pain control is usually at the forefront of the Intensive Care team’s management plan, in order to control the Patient’s pain well.
- Myth#4- Being a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care is all about technology and equipment and the human “caring factor” is diminished!
Whilst keeping critically ill Patients alive in Intensive care, can be about technology and equipment and sometimes is all about technology and equipment (I.e. Ventilators for respiratory support, infusion pumps, Monitors, Bypass machines/ECMO, Balloon pumps/IABP’s to only name a few).
And you may be surprised how much most of the Intensive Care nurses do really care about your critically ill loved one and their Families. Whilst some Intensive Care staff (Doctors and Nurses) love the technology aspect of their work, they mostly enjoy the interaction with Patients and their Families and they do get tremendous reward and satisfaction out of their profession. Seeing people getting better after or during critical illnesses is a very rewarding journey and in some instances even if people are approaching their end-of-life, helping Families to deal with the end-of-life process, ensuring Patients comfort, as well as making sure Families are able to understand the process around end-of-life care is viewed by many health professionals as a privilege, including myself. I see my profession and my work as a tremendous privilege!
There is however one aspect about “caring” in Intensive Care that I must highlight and if you have to our website to look for independent advice and to do your own research, you may feel like your critically ill loved one is not getting the best possible care.
And if that is the case, you may start asking yourself if the culture in the Intensive Care Unit, your critically ill loved one is in, is either a positive or a negative culture?
Related article/video:
Do you think that the Intensive Care team has a “can-do” attitude and do you think the Intensive Care team has a genuine interest in doing their best for you, your Family and for your critically ill loved one? Do you and your Family feel that the Intensive Care team is prepared “to do whatever it takes” to get your critically ill loved one on its way to their recovery? If you can genuinely say “yes” to those answers, great! It looks you and your critically ill loved one are in the right place at the right time!
If you feel however, the Intensive Care Unit where your critically ill loved one is getting treatment at, has a negative culture and has a negative attitude, then you need to start asking the right questions, in order to get what you want! You should not put up with a negative culture, because it will be to the detriment of your critically ill loved one and the likelihood of the Intensive Care team playing politics with your critically ill loved one’s treatment is high! If the Intensive Care Unit has a negative culture they are often not prepared “to do whatever it takes” to save your critically ill loved one’s life!
Again, it all comes down to managing this negative culture and negative or even “bad” behaviour from your end.
The good news is that you are in the right place because we have all the tools, tips, strategies and real- world case studies for you so you can make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence!
This was the first Part of “The 9 myths of being a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care revealed!”
Go and look out for Part 2 of “The 9 myths of being a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care revealed!” where I share the remaining myths with you!
How can you become the best advocate for your critically ill loved one, make informed decisions, get PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence quickly, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care?
You get to that all important feeling of making informed decisions, get PEACE OF MIND, CONTROL, POWER AND INFLUENCE when you download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report NOW by entering your email below!
In Your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report you’ll learn quickly how to make informed decisions, get PEACE OF MIND, real power and real control and how you can influence decision making fast, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care! Your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” Report gives you in-depth insight that you must know whilst your loved one is critically ill or is even dying in Intensive Care! Sign up and download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT now by entering your email below!
In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care!
In your FREE report you’ll also discover
- How to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions
- Discover the many competing interests in Intensive Care and how your critically ill loved one’s treatment may depend on those competing interests
- How to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying
- 5 mind blowing tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to making informed decisions, get PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence in your situation
- You’ll get real world examples that you can easily adapt to your and your critically ill loved one’s situation
- How to stop being intimidated by the Intensive Care team and how you will be seen as equals
- You’ll get crucial ‘behind the scenes’ insight so that you know and understand what is really happening in Intensive Care
- How you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care (it’s not what you think)
Thank you for tuning into this week’s BLOG and I’ll see you again in another update next week!
Make sure you also check out our “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” section where I answer your questions or send me an email to [email protected] with your questions!
Or you can call us! Find phone numbers on our contact tab.
Also check out our Ebook section where you get more Ebooks, Videos and Audio recordings and where you can also get 1:1 counselling with me via Skype or over the phone and via email by clicking on the email and phone counselling tabs on the top of the website!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update.