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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Dad Has Jerking Movements After 25 Minutes of CPR & Anoxic Brain Injury, ICU Wants to Stop Treatment 

Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care. So today’s tip is about answering a question from Shirley who says,

Hi Patrik,

My dad is currently in ICU. I’ve been told that his brain has been affected due to anoxic brain injury when he fainted, which lasted about 25 minutes.

Firstly, I find it odd considering that CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was done immediately. He has had movements, and even opened and closed his eyes briefly and he had tears. He also moved up and got red when they were moving the breathing tube. Neurologist is saying it’s just jerk movements. They’re basically pushing for us to stop treatment. But I still find some things odd.

From,

Shirley.

Well, thanks Shirley for sharing your dad’s situation. I’m very sorry to hear about this, but no, I’m glad you are finding things odd. I’m glad to hear that.

The biggest challenge for families in intensive care is simply 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 and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care. That’s exactly what you are dealing with here.

So, first off, once again, I find it very good that you are finding things odd because you should be finding things odd, if an intensive care team is pushing for end of life. Why is that odd? Because 90% of intensive care patients approximately survive. So the odds are in your dad’s favor. So why should he not be surviving? So that’s the first question you have already asked, which is great.

Now, in terms of, has the brain been affected with an anoxic brain injury? Well, have they done the CT (Computed Tomography) scan of the brain? Have they done an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan of the brain? Have they done an EEG (Electroencephalography) of the brain? And what are the results? And what are the reports showing? Have you seen the reports? Do you have access to the medical records?

If I can’t tell you whether CPR was done with good effect or not, I couldn’t tell you that. However, one way to find out is by looking at CT scan, MRI scan, and EEG reports because that will tell you how badly the brain has been affected by possibly an anoxic brain injury.

Now, if he’s opening and closing his eyes, that is a good sign. That means he cannot be brain dead, he might be brain damaged, but he’s definitely not brain dead if he’s opening and closing his eyes. You are also saying he’s moved up and got red when they were moving the breathing tube.  What’s probably happened here is, that they were moving the breathing tube, maybe they suctioned him, maybe they had to change the position of the breathing tube because it had migrated. And if that is the case and he was moving up, but that is also a very good sign. That means his brain must be working.

If the neurologist is saying it’s just jerking movements. Once again, what does the CT scan of the brain show? What does the MRI scan of the brain show? What do EEG reports show? And then the question is if it’s jerky movements could also be seizures  Does he have seizures? What medications is he on? Is he on anti-seizure medications? To stop the jerky or seizures movements.

And if they’re pushing for you to stop treatment, well, that’s not up to them, that is up to you what you want for your dad. If you want to continue treatment, that’s entirely up to you and they have an obligation to do so. So don’t let anyone push you towards things you don’t want to do. But more importantly, you don’t have all the information here. You’re just scratching, you’re not even scratching the surface with the information you need. You’re not even scratching the surface. Before you can make a decision when someone is in intensive care like your dad, there are dozens, potentially hundreds of things happening simultaneously. And unless you can break it down in much detail, you are not in a position to make informed decisions have peace of mind, control, power and influence. Please keep that in mind.

So the best next step here for you Shirley, is to reach out to me directly. Call me on one of the numbers on the top of our website here at intensivecarehotline.com or send me an email, or another email to [email protected].

Now, the next best step is to sign up for our membership at intensivecarehotline.com. We have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care and you can get access to it by going to intensivecarehotline.com and click on the membership link or go to intensivecaresupport.org directly.

In the membership, you have access to me and my team 24 hours a day in the membership area and via email and we answer all questions intensive care related.

Now, I also offer one on one consulting and advocacy for families in intensive care over the phone, via Skype, via email, via WhatsApp, via Zoom, whichever medium works best for you. And I asked all the questions to the intensive care team that you haven’t even considered asking, but you must ask to make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence.

And I also set you up with the right questions to ask as I said. But the shortcut is for me to talk to the intensive care team directly. Once the intensive care team knows you have a clinician on your side that speaks the in intensive care language just as well as they do, you will see that the dynamics will change in your favor.

Now, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. I can be there over the phone, over Teams, Zoom, whichever way works best for you. And I represent you in those family meetings, making sure the intensive care team is not walking all over you.

If you are not prepared for an intensive care meeting or meeting with intensive care team, you will be fighting an uphill battle and you will be fighting a losing battle. And if you’re not having an advocate there, I strongly recommend not to go there in the first place, because they know what to say, they know how to say it, they know when to say it and they know what not to say unless you have someone in there that can read the play, you will be fighting an uphill and a losing battle.

Now, I have worked in intensive care for over 20 years in three different countries. I have worked as a nurse unit manager for over five years in intensive care. And I have been advocating and consulting for families in intensive care all around the world for the last 10 years. Have a look at our testimonial section, have a look at our podcast section with some client interviews as well.

Now, we also offer medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time, contact us for that. And we also offer medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure or if you are simply suspecting medical negligence.

Now, if you like my videos, 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 or what questions and insights you have from this video.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com, and I will talk to you in a few days. Take care for now.