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YOUR INTENSIVE CARE HOTLINE - Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Was it the Right Decision to Withdraw Treatment for My Mother After Only 3 Days in ICU?

/ Patrik Hutzel - Critical Care Nurse Consultant / No Comments

Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Was it the Right Decision to Withdraw Treatment for My Mother After Only 3 Days in ICU?

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

Today, I want to read out a comment from Kael on my YouTube channel and Kael makes a comment underneath a video where I talk about, “How long does it take to wake up after a hypoxic brain injury?”

So, Kael writes, “My mom was going through this after a heart attack. She had COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) for years as well. After 3 days, we pulled her off life support. It was the hardest thing to do but after 3 days sitting beside her and not knowing how she thinks, I hope we made the right decision.

Apparently, her injury was global. Her lungs were that fragile from years of illness. So, on Sunday the 7th of March, we as a family pulled life support. She passed away 8 hours later March the 8th. We buried her yesterday, 12th of March, and our world has been torn apart.”

I’m very sorry, Kael, to hear that. It is very, very difficult making decisions for your loved one when they are in intensive care in those life-threatening situations. There’s no hard and fast rule, there’s no right or wrong situation. It really is only right for you as a family for that decision to make.

Now, my advice here is always that you should make a decision today that you don’t regret in 12 months’ or in 24 months’ time because often these decisions are made under intense stress and intense emotions. So therefore, I often highly recommend just to take a few days to think about these things. Given that you are writing about this on my YouTube channel and given that you are still watching videos, I’m not sure whether you are sure whether you’ve made the right decision or not.

You can’t turn back from a “pulling the plug” situation, but it’s too late now. I argue that 3 days in ICU is not a long time, that doesn’t give you enough time to get all the information that you need in order to make literally a life-or-death decision. So, that is my only advice here.

Maybe you have discussed it with your mom prior to this and you might have been in a good spot to make that decision, but that’s not really what I’m reading from your comments. It sounds to me like you, your world has been shredding to pieces and I can understand that. It’s terrible, and I’m so sorry for you and your family, what you are describing here.

But for anyone watching this or reading this who is in a similar situation to Kael, take your time. Take your time, watch more videos, get some one-on-one consulting, do all your due diligence. Three days in ICU is not a long time.

I know that because I have worked in intensive 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 have been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care all around the world since 2013.

I can say without the slightest hint of exaggeration that we have saved lives with intensivecarehotline.com consulting and advocacy. We have saved many lives of patients in intensive care where intensive care teams wanted to “pull the plug” and we successfully intervened more than once.

We’ve given more than one second opinion and saying, “Here are treatment options, here are treatment options.” Have you considered taking your loved one home for end-of-life care? Have you considered that? I don’t know. There are services now like intensivecareathome.com that can provide end of life care at home and palliative care at home.

So, I just thought I found it an interesting comment from Kael. Thanks again for sharing. I just want anyone to know who’s in a similar situation, three days in ICU is not a long time, and do your own research.

That’s why we’ve created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care here at intensivecarehotline.com. If you go to intensivecarehotline.com and you click on the membership link, you can have access to our membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. 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 specifically written and recorded for families in intensive care to help them steer the territory, the difficult territory that is intensive here with proven strategies and tips.

I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy on the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you so that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly and you will see that the dynamics change very quickly in your favor if you have concerns with intensive care teams and what they’re doing or potentially what they’re not doing.

Moreover, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams once again, so that you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. I ask all the questions with the doctors and nurses that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one in intensive care.

We also offer medical record reviews in real time if you want a second opinion in real time. We also offer more medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are simply suspecting medical negligence.

Now, 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.

Thank you so much for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel and 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, comment below what you want to see next and what questions and insights you have.

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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