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

So, we’re having a lot of inquiries where families say, “Should my loved one have a tracheostomy? Should they not have a tracheostomy?” It’s so important that you ask the right questions when you have a loved one in intensive care.

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.

A much better question to ask when the ICU team is asking, “Well do you want the tracheostomy for your loved one or not?” is, how can they avoid the tracheostomy? But you actually need to ask that question from Day 1.

So, here’s what happens in ICU, especially for patients who are on ventilators with the breathing tube, and they are in an induced coma. From that day onwards, there needs to be a plan how to get your loved one off the ventilator as quickly as possible, and that is often easier said than done.

There can be many obstacles around that, but it nevertheless must be the goal because, really a ventilator and a breathing tube can only be a temporary measure to preserve life, to cure your loved one, and get them off the ventilator as quickly as possible.

Because if you can’t get them off the ventilator as quickly as possible, then the question is what’s next? Then the question that is coming up inevitably is often tracheostomy or no tracheostomy? So, there must be a plan from day one, on how to get your critically loved one off the ventilator.

Now, case in point. So, when families come to us and they say, “Should my loved have a tracheostomy?”

Then I tend to ask them, “Well, when did you find out about the tracheostomy?” “Well, I didn’t even know a tracheostomy was the thing until 2 days ago”, that’s when they first started talking to me about it.

Again, that’s another sign that you need to do your research from Day 1 because if you’re not doing your research, you’re losing critical time to get your loved one off the ventilator as quickly as possible and avoid the tracheostomy.

A better question to ask is, “How to wean in a critically ill patient off the ventilator and the breathing tube?” I have done an article about that and recorded a video about that specific topic and that is the better question to ask.

But that is a question you need to ask from Day 1, not when the ICU team is thinking about a tracheostomy and especially in the U.S. if your loved one ends up with a tracheostomy, then they often end up in LTAC. I’ve made countless videos about LTAC, why often  one shouldn’t go to LTAC (Long Term Acute Care) in the U.S.?

So, it is so important that from Day 1 when your loved one is, God forbid, going into ICU that you are doing your research, you know what to look for and what questions to ask. Bear in mind, that when someone is on a ventilator with a breathing tube in an induced coma, the deconditioning everyday matters. Your loved one gets weaker every day they’re on a ventilator.

So, don’t wait for the ICU team to bring up a tracheostomy. Start asking, “What is your plan to wean my loved one off the ventilator and avoid the tracheostomy?” That is a much better question to ask.

If, God forbid, your loved one has a tracheostomy and it is still ventilator dependent, once again, the question is, “How can you wean off my loved one off the ventilator and the tracheostomy? What is your plan?” Those are the most important questions to ask and look for the answers. Look for the answers and get a second opinion.

I have worked in intensive care and 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 since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com.

That’s also why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. You can get access to the membership if you go to intensivecarehotline.com if 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.

In the membership, you also have access to 21 e-books and 21 videos that are specifically written and recorded for families of critically ill patients in intensive care, making sure you make informed decisions, you have peace of mind, control, power, and influence.

I also offer 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. I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one in intensive care, once again, so that you can make informed decisions, and have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. You will see that I will open your eyes and that I will make sure your loved one gets the best care and treatment.

We also offer medical record reviews in real-time so that you can get a second opinion in real-time, helping you once again to make informed decisions and have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. 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 or I’ll be there with you over the phone or on a video conference so that once again, making sure that your loved one gets the best care and treatment so that you get the outcomes that you would like for your loved one.

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

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:

How to Deal with the Consistent Negative Talk from ICU Teams! Quick Tip for Families in ICU! Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: I Agreed to Stop Life Support for My Dad in ICU Six Months Ago! Did I Make the Right Decision? Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Doctors Want to Send My Mom to a Nursing Home After Tracheostomy in a Natural Coma. What are the Options? Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: After 6 Days on a Ventilator, ICU Wants to Send My Dad to LTAC (Long Term Acute Care) Even Though He’s Making Progress! Help! Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: My Husband’s Back in ICU with Tracheostomy, NG (Nasogastric) Tube & Osteomyelitis, Can He Go to Rehab?