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

So today, I have a question from Tara who says,

“Hi Patrik,

My father is in ICU and has been since the 1st of October 2023. They put him on CRRT, which stands for continuous renal replacement therapy, also known as dialysis or hemofiltration.

They keep saying they have maxed all treatments. I keep an extremely close watch on his My Charts records, and I have had a lot of issues with things they are putting in his charts. He was on two forms of life support a couple of weeks ago. Now, they’re saying he’s on four forms of life support. They’re giving us the guilt trip for wanting to keep him full code.

He has been in and out of the hospital for the last 18 months that started with an abscess on his tooth. We are very concerned, and I have tried to get a cardiologist on his care as his heart is now still and not functioning properly. My dad is fighting hard to live, and the ICU is giving up on him.

I have audio recordings of approximately 300 times the doctors come in the room to update us.

From Tara.”

It’s very sad to hear Tara, but there is help at hand in a situation like that. We have helped so many families, hundreds, potentially thousands of families over the years now at intensivecarehotline.com.

Just look at our testimonial section and look at some of our podcast interviews. We have saved lives with our advocacy by giving a second opinion and by implementing strategies that help our families to exercise their rights. We can do the same for you here, Tara.

So, let’s break this down. You’re saying he was on two forms of life support initially, probably on CRRT (Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy), also known as hemofiltration or dialysis, and the ventilation side of things. So, those two things would have kept him on life support.

Now, if he is on four forms of life support now, most likely he’s on inotropes or vasopressors to maintain a blood pressure that is compatible with life, which might also be triggered by the CRRT because that often triggers a low blood pressure. I have also made a video about it that are linked below, “What forms of life support there are in intensive care?”

Other forms of life support might be ECMO (Extracorporeal-membrane-oxygenation). I doubt that your dad is an ECMO but can’t rule it out either but check out the other video where I talk about, “What forms of life support are actually available in ICU?” Could be as simple as a nasogastric tube, which could also be considered as life support.

Now, in regard to the guilt trip that you want to keep him full code. Well, I mean, you’re just reacting to them. You can choose not to react. People forget that they have free will. You can let it impact you that they’re trying to guilt trip you or you can just ignore it, that is your choice.

So, don’t make them responsible for guilt-tripping you because you are responsible for responding to that. Also, I have made a video about, “When the intensive care team is guilt tripping you.” So, I’ll link towards that as well.

So, take full responsibility for the outcomes and also take full responsibility for how they make you feel or not make you feel because if you let them, if you allow them to make them feel you a certain way, that’s your fault. You need to take responsibility of not let them guilt-tripping you. Take full responsibility for everything that’s happening because that’s the only way you can manage and control the situation.

So, don’t point the finger at them, just take charge of the situation and take control of the situation.  Don’t blame other people because that’s not going to help you. You are responsible and take full responsibility for everything that’s happening, including the outcomes because you are in control, you just don’t know it yet, that’s all. We can help you with that step-by-step.

Now, “We are very concerned, and I tried to get a cardiologist on his care as his heart is now still not functioning properly.” So, you need to get a cardiologist there. He’s probably an inotropes and vasopressors. Absolutely, you need to get a cardiologist.

What I would do if the intensive care is not helping you with the cardiologist, you need to make a complaint to the hospital executive ASAP. Don’t try and solve this problem in intensive care. You need to take that particular problem out of intensive care, which means you need to talk to a hospital executive and send them an email. We can help you with that. We’ve written many emails for our clients to hospital executives, once again, with great outcomes. Usually, the dynamics change very quickly.

Now, you also have audio recordings of approximately 300 times. Yup, we’re happy to listen to these recordings if you find value in them and if you think it will help you and ask further about your calls, but probably it will be enough just by looking at the medical records and probably talking to them or listening to the recordings.

I know we can help you one way or another. There’s probably a lot of things that they talk about, and you don’t exactly know what it means. There’s probably a lot of things they haven’t even told you, but we can probably find out by just looking at the medical records. That’s our area of expertise.

So, I hope that helps, Tara, to take the next steps.

Now, we have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care at intensivecarehotline.com when you click on the membership link, or you 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.

I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to doctors and nurses directly. I talk to you and your families directly, of course. When I talk to doctors directly, I ask all the questions you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked so that you can make informed decisions, and have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. You will see that the dynamics will change very, very quickly.

I’ve worked in intensive care for over 20 years in three different countries where I have worked as a nurse manager for over five years. I have now been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care for the last 10 years here at intensivecarehotline.com.

Once again, have a look at our testimonial section and listen to some of our podcasts that we’ve done with clients, verifying that we get results for our clients including saving lives. It’s no exaggeration.

Now, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. Once again, the situations we’ve turned around on family meetings just by having me there and asking the right questions is enormous.

But also, we strategize whether you should even go into a meeting in the first place. A lot of families in intensive care, run blindly into those meetings and they get walked all over. They have no idea what’s coming. They have no idea that the intensive care is to run these meetings 365 days of the year. They know what to say, they know when to say it, they know how to say it, and they know what not to say.

I will break through all of that, making sure that (A) you’re getting good outcomes if we decide you do go into a family meeting, and if you would, if we decide it’s better not to go to a family meeting, how you can get the outcomes that you want, regardless. Very important that you have a strategy. 99% of families in intensive care do not have a strategy and that’s why they get walked all over. We have a strategy for you that works.

Now, we also offer medical record reviews in real-time so that you can get a second opinion in real-time. 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.

All of that, you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to [email protected].

Now, thank you for watching.

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

Thanks for watching.

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

Take care for now.