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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 about a question that we have from one of our clients who said, “Should a patient in a vegetative state be mobilized and have physical therapy or physiotherapy?” This is a question that has come about with a client that we worked with for the last few weeks, and the situation is like this: A young man in his early 30s is in ICU after cardiac arrest and hypoxic brain injury. Whilst the ICU team has been pushing towards declaring the patient “brain dead”, he’s never passed the brain death test, so after multiple attempts of the ICU team to declare the patient brain dead, all of those attempts have failed because it simply isn’t brain death. There was still very negative doom and gloom and would not try and improve the patient’s condition to the extent where they would just be letting him lie in bed and not do anything to stimulate him.

They are labelling him that he’s in a vegetative state, and whilst that is probably accurate, his Glascow Coma Scale is probably a 5 or a 6. There’s still enough research out there that mobilization and physical therapy will still improve the situation of these patients. We’ve been harping on about here, for the last 10 years and longer, that early mobilization in particular in ICU was absolutely critical and there are various studies out there that I will link to, below this video that confirms what I’m saying here.

Imagine for this particular young man, he’s been lying in bed since early January, it’s now early March. He’s been literally lying in bed for two months with a critical illness. Imagine, you would be confined to a bed for two months, the deconditioning is happening rapidly, and the risk for this young man getting contracted joints, pressure sores, DVT (deep vein thrombosis), and then a pulmonary embolism (PE) is very high. So, all these risk factors can be minimized by doing physical therapy, mobilization, and stimulation.

Now, I know that ICU communities can be divided around whether patients with a hypoxic brain injury will recover but there are stories out there that patients have recovered, maybe not to the extent to what the life they lived before they had the injury; however, there are still enough stories out there that patients have improved where they know they could live longer and could live with a quality of life that was acceptable for them, was acceptable or is acceptable for their families.

One thing is for sure, if you’re not trying, you have already lost the battle. That’s pretty much what this family is battling with at the moment, they are not getting heard from the ICU about mobilization, let alone early mobilization after two months, and it’s not even early. But clearly, the deconditioning of their brother and son is happening rapidly because he’s literally been withering away in bed on a ventilator with a tracheostomy. There’s absolutely no reason why someone with a ventilator and a tracheostomy can’t be mobilized, assuming they are hemodynamically stable, and they don’t have any fractures, neither is the case with this young man. Why would you give up on a on a young man’s life or why would you give up on anyone’s life if they clearly want to live?

So, the earlier you can mobilize, and like I said, we will link to some studies below this video. So that if you are in a similar situation, you can show to the hospital or to the doctors if they are giving you the doom and gloom and all the negativity, once again, one thing is for sure, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take i.e. if you’re not trying to mobilize or rehabilitate patients in a vegetative state, you’re definitely already not winning, but if you keep trying, you might get somewhere.

Also, another tip that goes along with this is, that this particular hospital that this young man is at clearly has given up on him whereas now the family is talking to a Christian hospital in the same city. The Christian hospital is saying, “Well, we don’t discriminate against anyone, and we treat everyone the same. We are guided by the wishes of a patient and the family.” Obviously, you might look at hospitals that are aligned with your values in this situation. Again, it’s a Christian hospital and I guess whether you’re religious or you’re not religious, I guess you got to go with where the values align with you and your family. Once again, don’t let the doom and gloom bog you down, go to where the doors are opening and go to where the values align with your values, that is what I would strongly recommend here.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

If you have a loved one in intensive care and you have questions, we have created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care here at intensivecarehotline.com if you click on the membership link or if 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. If you become a member, you also have access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that are only accessible to members, and all your questions, all the strategies, and tools are there for you to steer this difficult territory that is intensive care.

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. I have been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013, and I can say without any hint of exaggeration that we have saved lives.

Have a look at our testimonial section. Have a look at our podcast  section where we interviewed clients to vouch for what I’m saying here.

I offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you with families in intensive care with you. I also talk to doctors and nurses directly with you, and you will see that when we do that, the dynamics will change in your favour very, very fast. It makes all the difference. My goal is that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, that is so important in a situation like that.

Don’t wait any longer and call us here at intensivecarehotline.com because so many families watch these videos and they never take action and think, “Oh, yeah, this is all great information” and then they do nothing. Then they’re wondering why intensive care teams do whatever they want to do and why they always feel like they’re behind the able. Take action, take responsibility and your world will change. I hear it all the time, “Yeah, your videos are great, but I’m just too scared.” “I’m too afraid.” Well, if you’re too scared and too afraid, you might as well give up. Your loved one deserves better than you giving up, that is for sure, so I make sure you make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power, and influence.

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.

I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams making sure you (a) go into a family meeting and have the right strategy, or (b) you don’t go at all which is a strategy too. That way too few families implement, they think, “Oh, if the intensive care team says, ‘Oh, we got to have a meeting tomorrow by 3:00.’ They say, ‘Yeah, I’ll drop everything.’” You shouldn’t drop everything. You need to think about a strategy, and going into a meeting sometimes can be the worst thing you can do.

I’ve made videos and blog posts about this, but you need a strategy when you go into a meeting or one of the strategies is not to go into it in the first place. Don’t be held hostage by what the intensive care team wants. You have to have your own strategy. You live in your own reality. Don’t live in anybody else’s reality, that is very important.

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].

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, and what questions and insights 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.