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Another Testimonial from a Happy Client! Thank You Patrik for Helping Me Get My Husband Out of ICU Alive!

Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, today’s tip is more like a testimonial from one of our clients that we worked with over the last couple of weeks. Here’s the background story before I read out the testimonial.

Our client’s 88-year-old husband has been in a car accident, mid-September and he ended up in ICU with significant rib fractures after the car accident, no head injury, was in a prolonged induced coma, was ventilated for a long time.

Now, given his age, the ICU team was very negative, doom and doom from the start, saying, “At his age, he won’t survive because he couldn’t come off the ventilator.” We suggested a tracheostomy. They are saying that “At his age, he’s not a candidate for a tracheostomy.” Always putting it down to age, not to the clinical condition.

But by looking at the clinical situation, by looking at medical records, and by setting up the client with questions, we could talk them through it, and we said, “Well, if they continue to try him on the spontaneous breathing trials, if they continue to wean him off the ventilator, if they start mobilizing him, then eventually he will come off the ventilator.” His brain was intact. He could communicate even though there was only limited communication, but at least he could clearly communicate with yes and no questions.

After about three weeks in ICU, he came off the ventilator and he’s now on a hospital floor/ward. The client always said, “My husband is 88 but he was actually working as an electrician the day before the accident.” So, age is not a determining factor to whether someone can recover or not. It’s complete nonsense as a matter of fact. It’s down to the individual. There are people that are 88 years of age that in this situation can recover and others can’t. But it’s not depending on age, it’s depending on what’s exactly happening.

Like I said over and over again, the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is that they don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know what to look for. They don’t know what questions to ask. They don’t know their rights. They don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care.

So, let’s read out the testimonial from our client who said,

“Hi, Patrik.

I hope you’re well, great news.

My husband is finally on the ward, and he left ICU.

Everything you said was correct! He was ready to come off the ventilator and the breathing tube  just like you said, and he did.

I was hoping we can get on another Zoom call for another half hour to discuss what now and what we are to next as he is on the ward with the nasal prongs and small amounts of oxygen.

Thank you so much for all your help.”

So, it is reasonably easy for me to predict what’s happening next in ICU.  Assuming I can get access to all the data, I can talk to ICU doctors and ICU nurses directly, or I can set you up with questions, or we can look at medical records or ideally do a combination of all of that. Then it’s recently easy for me and my team to predict what’s happening next.

I worked in intensive care for over 20 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse unit manager for over five years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care for the last 10 years and it’s reasonably easy for me to predict what’s happening next.

It’s critically important for you that you get a second opinion in real time. Don’t come to us once your loved ones have passed away and then you’re finding our website and saying, “Oh, if I had only known that there was advocacy.” We have so many clients or readers approach us and say, “My family member passed away. I didn’t know any better at the time. I just gave in.” Now, they want the medical record review and find out whether there has been negligence.

Keep in mind, 90% of patients in intensive care survive. Keep in mind that there’s help out there, but you need to take it seriously, and you need to do research from Day 1. Don’t come to us when it’s too late. The best outcomes that families get is who take it seriously to get help, who appreciate the knowledge that we bring to the table, the second opinion we bring to the table. It’s a game changer clearly, as you can see from the testimonial.

If it hadn’t been for this client, reaching out and working with me, one-on-one, the client would have probably passed away because the ICU just wanted to give up because of the client’s age. Once again, age is not a determining factor.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

If you have a loved one in intensive care and you need help, go to intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected].

We also have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care, if you want access to the membership and have access to me and my team in a membership area and via email, 24 hours a day, in a membership area and via email, go to intensivecarehotline.com, click on the membership link, or go to intensivecaresupport.org directly.

I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, via Skype, via Zoom, via WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to doctors and nurses directly with you. I can set you up with questions directly. I talk to your family members as well if that’s what you want. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams so that you are in a position to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence.

Keep in mind, I will either ask the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked or I’ll set you up with the questions that you need to ask, but you haven’t even considered asking but are critical to ask in situations where you have a loved one in intensive care.

We also offer medical record reviews in real time. So, if you want a medical record review while your loved one is in intensive care, please contact us as well. If you want a medical record review after intensive care, if you need closure, if you have unanswered questions, if you’re suspecting medical negligence, please contact us as well. But we highly, highly recommend doing the review in real time so you’re not in a compromising position after intensive care. You need to get information now and in real time.

Now, if you like my video, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the like button, click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.

Take care for now.