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

So today’s tip is another question answered from one of our readers who says,

“Hi Patrik,

My dad is in the ICU on a ventilator and I don’t think he’s been taken cared of very well.

They’re not telling us something. I’m really scared. My dad can’t talk and I don’t know his last wishes. He’s making a fabulous recovery from the cardiac arrest that he had. The hospital staff is causing him to decline in progress. I need help.

From Bianca”

Thank you so much Bianca for your message. And I know that’s how many other families feel in intensive care that, their loved ones are not being taken cared of very well. They feel like information is being withheld.

The anxiety levels are going through the roof for families and that makes it incredibly difficult when their loved ones can’t talk. And even though he’s making progress considering that he had a cardiac arrest, you feel like the hospital staff are not doing everything they can. Now, let’s look at how you can improve this situation.

First off, it’s very good that you recognize that you need help. Most families in intensive care they don’t even recognize that they need help because they take everything that the intensive care team says at face value. And you need a second opinion in a situation like that.

As like I’ve been saying over and over again, 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. And that’s exactly what you are up against here, Bianca.

You don’t know what you don’t know and you don’t know how to manage the intensive care team there but you can see that they’re not taking care of your dad. Well, and you can see that they’re not progressing him forward as quickly as possible.

Now, first off, if he had a cardiac arrest, the first question that I would want to know is, was he in cooling therapy? So that all his major organs were protected including the brain.  Did you have that? Has he had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan of the brain? Has he had a CT (Computed Tomography) scan of the brain? What does that show? Has he had an EEG (Electroencephalography)? How long was the downtime during the cardiac arrest? Was there a risk of a brain injury or of an anoxic brain injury or a hypoxic brain injury? Is he still sedated? Is he on sedatives such as Versed or propofol or Precedex? Is he still on opiates such as morphine or fentanyl? What ventilator settings is he on? What does progress look like from your end? Does your dad, is he waking up? If he’s waking up? Can he obey commands? Can he recognize you? Can he make eye contact? Does he have seizures? Because he’s got potentially hypoxic or an anoxic brain injury. What does the neurologist say? You haven’t shared how many days it’s been.

Is he still ventilated with a breathing tube or does he now have a tracheostomy for example? Those are questions that need to be asked here and answered of course. And they probably haven’t even told you half of the story of what’s going on.

What does the cardiologist say? Why did you have a cardiac arrest? What does the neurologist say about brain activity? What does the intensive care team say about, are his other organs working? Does he have a kidney injury? Does he have liver failure? Does his heart need support? Did he have an ultrasound of the heart? Is he on inotropes or vasopressors? What are his blood results? What does his chest X-ray show?

It’s like piecing together a puzzle but the pieces need to fit, and therefore you need to get access to the medical records and you need myself, to talk to the doctors and nurses with you so we can ask all the questions that must be asked. But you don’t even know that we should be asking them because you don’t know what you don’t know. All with the goal of you making informed decisions, and having peace of mind, control, power and influence.

So you know what to do next? Reach out to us here at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send me another email to [email protected].

Also, 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. And I talk to doctors and nurses directly and I ask them all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked so that you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence.  I also talk to you and your families. We can do a conference call with all family members that you want to have involved in the discussions, bringing transparency in, bringing tips and tricks and strategies that work. Have a look at our testimonial section.  What our clients say about results, we’re helping them to get. You probably don’t even know that this is possible. You’re just thinking, the intensive care team has too much power. They do whatever they want. Yeah, they do whatever they want because you don’t know what to do. That’s the problem.

I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. So once again that we have strategies that work, that you have clinical representation and also we strategize whether you should go to a family meeting or not.  Sometimes we advise not to go in the first place, and some families ask, “Oh, can I do that?” Of course you can. Of course you can. You’re living in a free world. No one can force you to do anything. Keep that in mind, not hospitals either.

We also offer medical record reviews in real-time if you need 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.

Now, thank you so much for watching.

If you like my video, 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, share the video with your friends and families.

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.