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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM , where we instantly improve the lives of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can have PEACE OF MIND, real power, real control and so that you can influence decision making fast, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
In last week’s blog I’ve shown you
“The 3 phrases you must ALWAYS use if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care”
You can read, watch or listen to the update here.
In this week’s blog I want to give you insight in how the Intensive Care team might view a long-term stay of your critically ill loved one in Intensive Care and it’s time that we ask
IS IT “SEXY” FOR THE INTENSIVE CARE TEAM TO TREAT YOUR LOVED ONE WHO REQUIRES A LONG-TERM STAY IN INTENSIVE CARE?
If your critically ill loved one has been admitted to Intensive Care for critical illness and furthermore, if your critically ill loved one requires a long-term stay in Intensive Care, chances are that you feel fearful, frightened, uneasy, challenged and very vulnerable.
What is a long-term stay in Intensive Care?
First of all, let’s just quickly look at the definition of a “long-term stay” in Intensive Care. A long term stay in Intensive Care is generally speaking any stay that goes beyond the 2-3 week mark and can last forever so to speak. The longest stay in Intensive Care that I have come across in more than 15 years Intensive Care nursing in three different countries is around 18 months. However I have heard of cases that stayed up to two years.
Intensive Care is not a very pleasant environment at the best of times, let alone a long-term stay in Intensive Care.
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You will encounter unique challenges whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care
And with a long-term stay in Intensive Care, generally speaking come unique challenges, whether it be for you, for your Family, for the Intensive Care team and most of all for your critically ill loved one.
Your critically ill loved one who is, who has been or who will be in Intensive Care for long periods of time will most likely get depressed, due to the fact that the long-term stay in Intensive Care offers very little or no Quality of Life. Moreover, a long-term stay in Intensive Care also offers limited or no privacy and dignity. Furthermore, with the Intensive Care team holding all the perceived power and also holding the perceived decision making power and authority, the situation that you, your Family and your critically ill loved one find yourself in, is a situation where you feel like you have little or no PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence.
That is of course only, if you are like 99% of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care who think and act as if they have no power, control and influence whilst their loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and those 99% of Families also don’t question the status quo with the Intensive Care team holding most of the perceived power. That’s a big mistake!
The 1% of Families who do have control, power and influence educate themselves and they also act like they have control, power and influence and it makes all the difference!
And also, as a quick frame of reference, when I talk about a long-term Patient in Intensive Care, most of the time I refer to a long-term ventilated Patient with Tracheostomy. There are other examples that require a long term stay in Intensive Care such as ECMO, Haematology or Leukaemia Patients, however the majority of long-term Patients in Intensive Care generally speaking require some form of mechanical ventilation with Tracheostomy.
Are you and your Family close to a nervous breakdown because you are spending far too much time in Intensive Care?
You and your Family may get depressed as well, because clearly, your Quality of life is suffering too, especially since you and your Family spend far too much time in Intensive Care and you may find yourself in a situation where you are neglecting your Family and personal life, you may be neglecting your children or elderly parents and you may be dealing with loss of income, since you had to take time off work, in order to spend time with your critically ill loved one in Intensive Care. In fact you might be close to a nervous breakdown because of all the stress you are experiencing!
Furthermore, what also often happens during a long-term stay in Intensive Care is that often all parties involved get frustrated, especially if there is little or no progress.
Two steps forward, one step back
And what also happens during a long-term stay in Intensive Care is that more often than not, your loved one might take two steps forward and one step back. Or your critically ill loved one might take one step forward or two steps back.
In any case, if your critically ill loved one has been in Intensive Care for any period above two to three weeks in Intensive Care, the experience is generally a frustrating one and the patience and beliefs of all parties involved are tested.
And the reality is that if the long-term stay of your critically ill loved one in Intensive Care is getting too burdensome and difficult that the Intensive Care team may not be prepared to invest more time, resources and patience into the recovery of your critically ill loved one.
Is it perceived as “sexy” to treat a long term Patient in Intensive Care or are there any other “hidden” agendas?
Because dealing with a “long-term ventilated Patient” may not be perceived as “sexy” by the Intensive Care team.
What do I mean by that?
The reality and the fact of the matter is that at any given time in Intensive Care there are a lot of moving parts “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care that you and your Family have no idea and insights about and the Intensive Care team is certainly not shedding any light on any of the mostly hidden “behind the scenes” stuff and if anything they try and hide it from you.
A classic example would be that if your critically ill loved one has been in Intensive Care for two months and is struggling to come off the ventilator and is depressed, has no quality of life and desperately wants to get out of Intensive Care, but can’t because of the ventilator dependency, the Intensive Care team might come to you and might “sell” to you that your critically ill loved one’s prognosis and diagnosis is really poor and that a ”withdrawal of treatment” or a “limitation of treatment” would be “in the best interest” for your critically ill loved one!
Research is a Million $$$ Industry in Intensive Care and the Intensive Care team has a high interest in treating Patients that fall into research categories
What you also don’t know is that your critically ill loved one may not fall into a research category that the Intensive Care team is interested in and is getting funding for(research is a Million $$$ Industry in Intensive Care), however the bed and other resources that your critically ill loved one is currently occupying and using may better used for a Patient or for Patients that the Intensive Care team has a higher priority and interest in treating, for obvious reasons.
What you also don’t know is that the Intensive Care has multiple planned admissions scheduled for the days to come and the Intensive Care team knows that resources are going to be stretched in the next few days.
What you also don’t know is that the Intensive Care thinks that you and your Family have not asked too many difficult questions so far and that you have been very agreeable and cooperative, therefore the Intensive Care team thinks that they can easily “sell” to you that a “withdrawal of treatment” and/or a “limitation of treatment” might be “in the best interest” for your critically ill loved one. The Intensive Care team thinks that you and your Family are “easy prey” so to speak.
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The Intensive Care team think it’s not “sexy” to continue treating your critically ill loved one
The Intensive Care team also secretly thinks that it’s not “sexy” to continue treating your critically ill loved one and they want to focus more on Patients that turn over relatively quickly in Intensive Care. The Intensive Care team thinks that this is “sexy”… The Intensive Care team also has this perception that high acuity Patients who require the latest technology such as ECMO may be more interesting and more “sexy” to deal with…
The reality is that there are genuine alternatives to a long-term stay in Intensive Care
The Intensive Care team also doesn’t often want to tell you that there are genuine options for long-term ventilated Patients with Tracheostomy in Intensive Care such as Intensive Home Care Nursing services who specialise and provide Intensive Home Care services for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy in Intensive Care such as INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME in Australia (www.intensivecareathome.com.au) .
Other countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland have also embraced this far more Patient and Family friendly alternative to a long-term stay in Intensive Care a long time ago. Unfortunately many English speaking countries are lacking behind in those areas with the detriment of Patients and their Families being left without an alternative but to stay in Intensive Care
- Indefinitely
- Getting “sold” on the idea that a “withdrawal of treatment” or a “limitation of treatment” would be “in the best interest” of your critically ill loved one
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The reality is that ventilation at home with Tracheostomy is a positive reality already and it can be used in many situations, whether it be for
- Weaning your critically ill loved one off the ventilator
- Having your loved one at home if they require permanent ventilation
- And end of life situation where you, your Family and your critically ill loved one want to spend more time at home
Therefore you and your Family need to question the assumptions of the Intensive Care team and you also need to start asking questions and you need to demand more from the Intensive Care team.
I really hope that this blog helps you to put things into perspective if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and requires a long term stay in Intensive Care and the bottom line is that if you don’t have any control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care that the Intensive Care team will drive their agenda and will drive the bus.
How can you further leverage your level of power, influence and control whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and how can you be in control of the situation?
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! Your FREE ‘INSTANT IMPACT” Report gives you in-depth insight that you must know whilst your loved one is critically ill or is dying in Intensive Care! Sign up and download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT now by entering your email below!
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
- Discover the many competing interests in Intensive Care and how your critically ill loved one’s treatment may depend on those competing interests
- 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 PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence in your situation
- You’ll get real world examples that you can easily adapt to your and your critically ill loved one’s situation
- How to stop being intimidated by the Intensive Care team and how you will be seen as equals
- 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)
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 where we answer your questions or send me an email to [email protected] with your questions!
Also check out our Products section where you get more Ebooks, Videos and Audio recordings and where you can also get 1:1 consulting!
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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