Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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

Today, I have an email from Henry who says,

“Hi Patrik,

I have my dad in the hospital, and he was in there for basically liquor poisoning. He was put on the ventilator and sedation and was taken off the first time and he was having a bit of what I think was delirium. Then he was doing fine, then caught pneumonia and then they found him unconscious and got his breathing back, stabilized and he was on the ventilator again and at times he will blink or move his eyes, but the doctor say he will never wake up again.”

Well, Henry, thank you so much for sending your email.

I have worked in intensive care and critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. I can say without any hint of exaggeration that we have saved many lives.

Let’s break this down for you. So, the whole notion that your dad will never wake up is nonsense unless they’ve done a CT scan, an MRI scan, he had some form of brain injury, whether it’s a hypoxic brain injury and anoxic brain injury, a stroke. So, the doctors are saying that without having any context really. You haven’t been able to look at medical records from what I understand so there’s not enough context really for them to even say that.

What should be happening here? Well, the first thing that should be happening here, they should wake up your dad, take him off sedation, take him off opiates. Maybe he’s not waking up because he’s on too much sedation and too many opiates, so then give that a few days. If he’s then not waking up, let’s do a CT scan, MRI scan of the brain, let’s do an EEG/electroencephalograph of the brain, let’s get a neurology consult.

Once 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 and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care, which is again, exactly what you’re up against in this situation.

So, your dad might have been delirious, that is often what happens when patients come out of an induced coma. It’s not unusual and therefore, you should just keep plodding along. But what you should also do is get access to the medical records, get a second opinion. I’m glad you’ve reached out, but you need to take this further because at the moment, you’re just scratching the surface. Also, research and statistics clearly suggest that about 90% of patients in intensive care survive, that’s only 1 out of 10 not surviving. So therefore, chances your dad will get out of ICU are in his favor. The odds are in your dad’s favor.

So, you have to read between the lines when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care, what I mean by that is, whatever the intensive care team says is in their best interest. What is in their best interest? They want to empty the ICU bed as quickly as possible. They want to make as much money as possible and if they can achieve that, they will say whatever they want to say to achieve that. So, therefore, you have to read between the lines. Worst case scenario for an ICU unit is to look after a patient indefinitely with an uncertain outcome and your dad might fit that criterion. Keep in mind, once again, 90% of intensive care patients survive.

So, I hope that answers your question, Henry.

Because we get so many questions for families in intensive care, that’s why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care and you can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com by clicking 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. In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded. Those videos and eBooks will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence so that you can influence decision making fast so that your loved one gets best care and treatment.

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. I talk to doctors and nurses directly. When I 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. When I talk to you and your families directly, I handhold you through this once in a lifetime situation that you can’t afford to get wrong because, like in Henry’s situation today, Henry believes everything he’s been told. Without getting a second opinion, his dad might die. Like I said, we have saved many lives with our consulting and advocacy.

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 do 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 also 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 notified for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, or if you are a subscriber to my email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.

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.

Related Articles:

Quick Tip for Families in ICU: Weaning VA-ECMO for Heart Failure, Do you Need Milrinone or Dobutamine? Quick Tip for Families in ICU: Can a Tracheostomy be Done While your Loved One is on ECMO? Quick Tip for Families in ICU: What Questions to Ask When Your Loved One is in Heart Failure in ICU! Quick Tip for Families in ICU: What are Signs that My Mom can be Weaned Off the Ventilator in ICU? Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Why is My Mom Not Waking Up After Two Weeks in an Induced Coma and Paralyzing Agents After Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)?