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Intensive Care is a challenging environment for all parties involved and it’s most challenging for Families of the critically ill

Intensive Care is a challenging environment to be in at the best of times and that’s usually true for all parties involved in Intensive Care. But it is without a doubt most challenging for the Patients and their Families. If you and your Family are confronted with the critical illness of your loved one in Intensive Care, you may at times not know what the next 24 hours bring. Will I get a phone call from the Intensive Care unit overnight if my loved one deteriorates, may be one of the many questions going through your mind. You may also wonder at times, whether your loved one will survive the night and whether you should stay in Intensive Care for the night, to be there in case your critically ill loved one deteriorates. You may also wonder what the implications of the critical illness of your loved one are in the future.

What exactly does “impairment of future Quality of Life” mean?

You may have been told by the Intensive Care team that after the maximization and optimization of therapy, the critical illness of your loved one may have a negative impact on the future Quality of life of your loved one. If so, you may be too frightened to even contemplate what life might look like in the future for you, for your family and most of all for your loved one, who at this point in time is still critically ill in Intensive Care. The Intensive Care team might have told you and your Family that they think your loved one will survive his or her stay in Intensive Care, but that you and your family should brace for life after Intensive Care, as things and life may not be the same. But what does it look like? What exactly does “impairment of future Quality of life” mean? What will life look like after Intensive Care and after hospital?

Quality of Life is something judged by the individual and not by the Intensive Care team

Every case is different and some people are perfectly happy with living with a “lesser Quality of life”. They are alive after all, that’s all that matters to some people anyway. What if you are uncertain and you don’t know what those impairments mean for your critically ill loved one in the future? So what exactly is Quality of life?(you’d be surprised about the answer) My answer to the question is this. I even call it Intensive Care 101. Quality of life is an abstract concept and it is perceived. Nobody, but you, your Family and your critically ill loved one need to determine the Quality of life that they are happy and content with. Nobody has the right to determine what Quality of Life looks like to you, to your Family and most of all to your critically ill loved one.

There are a lot of grey areas in Intensive Care

The bottom line is that there are a lot of grey areas in Intensive Care and in health care in general. It’s never black and white, even though some people may want to make you think that it is black and white. As you probably know by now there are a lot of grey areas in Intensive Care, in health care and in life in general. Stay positive as a starting point. No matter what, stay positive. You can move mountains by staying positive. Your critically ill loved one and your family will feel your positivity. Why do I say this? I say this, because I have seen people living with a ’lesser’ Quality of Life, where other people would have thrown in the towel and yet, regardless of people’s ordeals, they enjoyed life and they had things that they loved living for!

More importantly, Quality of Life is only perceived anyway

So what I am really saying is that • the maximization of therapy in Intensive Care with a less than desired health outcome for your loved one and your loved ones perceived Quality of Life in the future, may just be that. A snapshot. An undesired snapshot of the here and now. It might change. It might not change. If the maximization of therapy in Intensive Care does not bring the desired health outcome, with the outlook of a lesser perceived Quality of Life for your loved one, it may just be that. A lesser ‘perceived Quality of Life’, based on the assumptions of health professionals. Who are health professionals to judge how you, your Family and your loved one think and feel about ‘perceived Quality of Life’ from somebody else’s point of view? Somebody you don’t even know personally. So make your own judgement and wait. See what happens and do not panic. Try and get perspective about the issues at hand.

Take away Action steps for you and your Family

• Withhold judgement on Quality of Life

• Position yourself well mentally so that you have a strong and powerful internal mindset

• Even more important, withhold judgement on ‘perceived’ Quality of Life, that is not even reality yet and something in the future

• Have an open discussion with the nursing and medical staff regarding the Quality of Life or the ‘perceived Quality of Life’ of your loved one and share your viewpoints. Do not have the perception of ‘limited resources’ impact on your judgement

• Know your critically ill loved one. What does he or she want? To what extend is he or she prepared to put up with ‘tangible’ impairments (i.e. Quadriplegia or ventilator dependency)? To what extend is he or she prepared to go through a prolonged period with little or no progress, before Quality of Life can be restored?

• Know what external services are available in your area for discharge from hospital that can help you at home- in this day and age, even ventilation at home with Tracheostomy is a possibility, check out www.intensivecareathome.com.au

• your views on those issues will mainly determine the level of control, power and influence you’ll have over the situation • 99.9% in life you can’t control. Focus on the 0.1% in life that you can control and become a master at it and you’ll be in charge of your destiny!

How you can get to control, power and influence
It’s also important that you get to that all important feeling of control, power and influence during the stay of your loved one in Intensive Care! How can you achieve control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care?

You’ll get to that all important feeling of power, control and influence when you download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report NOW by entering your email below!
In Your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report you’ll learn quickly how to get real power and real control and how you can influence decision making fast, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care! Our FREE reports help you with in-depth insight that you must know whilst your loved one is critically ill or is dying in Intensive Care! Sign up for your FREE membership and download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT now! In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care!
In your FREE reports you’ll also discover

• how to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions

• how to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying

• 5 “killer” tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to control, power and influence in your situation

• you’ll get crucial ‘behind the scenes’ insight so that you know and understand what is really happening in Intensive Care

• how you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care(it’s not what you think)
With your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report you’ll also get 4 other FREE reports and the reports you will be receiving are

•  The 6 questions you need to ask the most senior doctor in Intensive Care
• 10 things you didn’t know doctors and nurses are talking about while you are not at the bedside with your loved one
•  the 7 answers to the 7 most FAQ if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care
• 9 myths of being a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care

Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog and I’ll see you again in another update next week! Make sure you also check out our “your questions answered” section or send me an email to [email protected]with your questions!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update

Sincerely,
your friend
Patrik Hutzel

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