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

I have an email from Samantha today who says, 

“Hi Patrik,

I appreciate all that you do for people in intensive care. I have found your videos and information. Very helpful and reassuring already. 

Unfortunately, my 82-year-old father is in ICU in Turkey. We have managed to scrape together enough money to get him a Medivac flight back to the U.K. where the medical treatment is free in the NHS.

My father couldn’t get medical insurance at his age as he had already had a stroke, a bleed on the brain which resulted in surgery, and he was intubated. He then went on to make a full recovery and he has been living a healthy lifestyle in Turkey. This episode was 4 years ago.

This time around, he fell over and had chest pain and found out his arteries were 70% and 90% blocked. So, he went in for a routine surgery on the 90% 1. Then he ended up with another ischemic stroke. So, he was put in intensive care where he got a chest infection. He came off the intubation but couldn’t sustain sufficient breathing because he still had the chest infection. So, they put him back in the induced coma and back on the breathing tube.

This was devastating because we spoke to him and despite being confused, he still knew our names and asked what was happening to him. So, he’s now on a stronger antibiotic and we will get the test results tomorrow or Monday morning.

Turkey is extremely strict when it comes to allowing visitors in the intensive care unit. I had to fight to see him just for 20 minutes a day. It’s inhumane in my view, as I believe in the power of touch, prayer, and words of encouragement, positivity in general.

My father is a strong, fit man who recovered fully before. So, I believe he has every chance he could do it again. What do you think?”

So, like I’ve been saying for a long, long time here at intensivecarehotline.com, the biggest challenge for families in intensive care 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.

So, with a 90% blockage and he had one type of surgery, where they’ve unblocked the artery, and he couldn’t be extubated the first time around doesn’t mean he can’t come around the second time around. Also, like I’ve been saying, approximately 90% of intensive care patients survive. So, the odds are in your dad’s favor.

Now, with the antibiotic for Monday or when you get the result back, they probably started him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic until they get the right result, and then they can target specifically.

Now, in the meantime, what you need to look for is, what happens if they take him off sedation and opiates. What ventilator settings is he on? Is he hemodynamically stable? Is he on inotropes, vasopressors, vasodilators? Is he in an in a regular or irregular heart rhythm? For example, because the stroke might have actually been triggered by an irregular heart rhythm such as A-Fib or atrial fibrillation also known as AF. So, you may want to find out whether that might triggered the actual stroke because if it has caused the stroke, you need to make sure he’s back in a regular heart rhythm.

If they, for whatever reason, couldn’t get him back into a regular heart rhythm such as a sinus rhythm, what are they doing for it? Is he on amiodarone on digoxin? Have they corrected electrolytes such as potassium or magnesium? Have they suggested a cardioversion or potentially even done a cardioversion to get him back in a regular heart rhythm? So once again, the biggest challenge for families in intensive here is that they don’t know what they don’t know.

Now, the other thing is because he’s got a chest infection. Now, the longer someone is on a ventilator, the higher the risk for a chest infection and you don’t want your dad having another chest infection. So, get him off sedation, get him off the opiates, if you can. Try and get him weaned off the ventilator and then either get him extubated as quickly as possible. That would be the quickest way for you to get him on the mend.

But if for whatever reason, he can’t be weaned off the ventilator, he might need a tracheostomy. Look, I couldn’t agree more with you that you shouldn’t have to fight for your visiting your dad beyond the 20 minutes that you’re allowed. That sounds more like a prison, and it is inhumane. I believe the same than you do in touch, prayer, words of encouragement. He certainly can survive this episode as well if he survived the last episode. But by the looks of things, he has some hurdles to overcome.

You should also talk to the neurologist, and I understand there might be a language barrier if your dad is in Turkey in ICU there but you should talk to the neurologist in particular about the brain damage that might have been sustained but you should also ask them to get a weaning plan to get him off the ventilator and let him to go back to normality as much as possible because every day on the ventilator in an induced coma is simply deconditioning your dad and you certainly don’t want that.

So, that is my quick tip for today. I hope that helps.

Now, I have worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years in intensive care. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care here at intensivecarehotline.com since 2013.

We’ve been saving many lives with our consulting and advocacy. You can verify that on our testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com or you go to our podcast section, and you can watch some client interviews who verify the work that we’ve done for them and how we save their loved one’s life.

That’s why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients that you can become a member of if you go to intensivecarehotline.com, 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 a membership area and via email and we answer all questions intensive care related.

In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 videos and 21 e-books that I have personally written and recorded. Once again, all with the goal of you making informed decisions, having peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment. So, in the membership, you have access to decades worth of intensive care nursing experience where me and my team share all our experience with you and help you very, very fast.

I also do one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly, but I also talk to doctors and nurses directly. Once again, I make sure you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment because you are in a once in a lifetime situation that you simply can’t afford to get wrong and you need that crucial second opinion in real time that we can also give you by reviewing your critically ill loved one’s medical records. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.

We also review medical records after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are 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 an email to [email protected].

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, comment below what you want to see next or what questions and insights you have.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show. You will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel or if you are a subscriber to our email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.

Now, if you want your video done very, very quickly because this video that I read out today, this email is from January this year. That’s how far back I am. I’m getting emails every day. So, if you want your email read out very, very quickly, make a small donation to the super chat button. You can leave a donation anyway, if you like the work that we are doing, the more families, we can help in intensive care all around the world. So, your donation goes to a good cause.

Now, thank you so much for watching.

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

Take care for now.

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