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

Today, I have an email from Ed who says, 

“Hi Patrik, 

The ICU keeps discharging my father and putting him on the recovery ward. But every time this happens, he digresses. I believe this is because he’s 93 years of age and has many failing organs, but he has a strong mind and a strong will to live. It looks like he’s raising his CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) every time he’s going to the hospital floor. What should we do?”

Now, few things here Ed. This is where, once again, the second opinion is so important when you have a loved one critically in intensive care. Many families realize whatever they’re doing is not working and they’re realizing that maybe the ICU team is trying to give them the short straw of the stick, so to speak.

So, what do you need to do? Well, first off, you need to get access to the medical records, and you can share that with us. You need to share that with us, that’s one way for us to help you to get the upper hand or the other thing is, you and I can get on the phone and talk to the doctors and nurse directly and find out exactly what is happening.

Yes, you are right. In many situations, age is often a factor where ICU says, “Oh, well, we’ll just discharge this patient to the ward. We just make room for someone else that needs the ICU bed.” There are certainly many preconceived notions rightly or wrongly. Age should not be a discriminating factor. What should be the only factor is if a patient is ready to go to the hospital ward or not, that should be the only determining factor. There are certain criteria that need to be met before someone can be transferred safely. The word here is “safely” to the ward, and that’s obviously not the case in your dad’s situation.

Now, other things you need to clarify in a situation like that is the goals of care for your dad. So, for example, what are his goals of care? You’re saying he has a strong will to live and that’s great, that should also be documented ideally in an advanced care plan. Because if it’s documented in an advanced care plan, in terms of does he want everything done, does he want to be back in ICU, then it’s much harder for the ICU to deny him for another ICU admission because that’s what it sounds like to me is happening. 

Also, with the rise in CO2, you haven’t checked whether your dad’s got an underlying condition, asthma, or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), you haven’t shared any of that. But the reality is that, if he does have that, he might need BIPAP (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure) or CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) in the long run to blow off the CO2. Also, if people are not blowing off their CO2, they are much more likely to become drowsy, sleepy and therefore, they’re much more likely to be readmitted into ICU. So, those are all factors you need to consider.

Now, I’ve worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years and where I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. I can confidently say that we have saved many lives with our consulting and advocacy. You can verify that by clicking on the testimonial section on our website and you can have a look at what our clients say, or you can have a listen to our intensivecarehotline.com podcast. Click on the podcast section on our website and you can see some client interviews that we’ve done over the years. 

That’s one of the many reasons why we have created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care and you can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com if you click on the membership link, or if you go into 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. In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded, that will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power and influence, making sure you can influence decision making fast when you have a loved one critically in intensive care, which is exactly what Ed needs in this situation, and that will help you to make sure your loved one gets best care and treatment.

I also do one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I handhold you through this once in a lifetime situation that you simply can’t afford to get wrong. I also talk to doctors and nurses directly. I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care so that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, so that you can influence decision making fast, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.

We also do 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 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 simply send us an email to [email protected] with your questions.

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, comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have, and share this video with your friends and families.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on a show and 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 intensivecarehotline.com email newsletter.

If you want to support our work, leave a donation on the super chat button so that we can make as many videos for families in intensive care all around the world or if you want your email read out very fast, make a donation and I will answer your question on video here very quickly. I barely keep up with making these videos, there are so many emails coming in.

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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