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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: My Dad had a Cardiac Arrest, CT Scan Looks Fine, No EEG Activity! Why is He Not Waking Up? Help!

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

So today, I have a question from Aaron, who says,

“Hi Patrik,

My father had a sudden cardiac arrest at an airport. Bystanders rushed to perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) within 2 to 3 minutes. Mom said paramedics got them and performed CPR for a little over 20 minutes before going to the hospital. There, he coded again on the ambulance. He has been sedated with the breathing tube for 3 days now. He had an original CAT (Computed Axial Tomography) scan and said there was no severe damage, but the EEG (Electroencephalography) came back as showing not a lot of activity.  Going to do an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan today. The doctors don’t seem very optimistic about him. Can you help?”

Well, thank you, Aaron, for your email, and I’m very sorry to hear about your dad’s situation.

So, here is what you need to know for us in a situation like that. Well, first off, 3 days in ICU after CPR is not a lot of time, and you have to consider that he’s probably heavily sedated. You might have to consider that he had cooling therapy. If your dad had cooling therapy in ICU, you also have to consider that he might have been paralyzed, he might have been heavily sedated for him to have the cooling therapy, for him to tolerate the cooling therapy. Therefore, he naturally may not wake up because of the CPR. He’s simply crooked. He’s very sick. So, you got to give your dad time.

Recovering in the ICU is more like a marathon and not like a sprint. It’s like switching on a light with a dimmer and not switching on a light with a switch. It could be a fairly long process. If the CT scan of the brain shows no damage, well, that’s a good sign. There are people in ICU that have no brain damage and they’re not waking up after an induced coma. So, you got to give this some time and you have to be very patient here.

People are often looking for the quick fixes. There’s probably not a quick fix there. Only time will tell you where this is going. Don’t be dissuaded by the ICU team being very negative because ICU teams have their own agenda, and their own agenda is to get people in and out as quickly as possible to optimize their revenue.

What is the worst-case scenario for an ICU? The worst-case scenario for an ICU is to look after a patient indefinitely with an uncertain outcome, and your dad might actually fit that criteria. We just don’t know yet.

Another thing that might have happened in the last couple of days is your dad might be prone to seizures because of the risk of a hypoxic brain injury. If he’s at risk of seizures, he would also be on anti-seizure medications such as Keppra or Phenytoin, which also have a sedative effect.

From your email, I can say that like 99% of families in intensive care, the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is 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, which is exactly what you are dealing with here.

You’re jumping to conclusions. It’s only been 3 days, don’t let the negativity of the intensive care team dissuade you. The overwhelming majority of intensive care patients survive. So, the odds are in your dad’s favor.

The intensive care team not giving you any hope, it’s just managing their downside. So, what do I mean by that? What I mean by that is, if they told you, “Look, we’re going to treat your dad for the next 10 days, and then your dad will get out of ICU alive”, and then it’s not going to happen, you could sue them.

By them being negative and by them trying to keep your expectations low, it’s easy for them to say, “Oh, well, we told you your dad is not going to make it.” So, you have to read between the lines, you have to put things in perspective, and you also have to understand that there are so many pieces in this puzzle when someone is in intensive.

In a situation like that, you’ve got to look at everything, CT scan results, medications that have been given, blood results, diagnostics. Everything needs to be taken into consideration here, and you are barely scratching the surface here, and you’re jumping to too many conclusions after only 3 days.

One way we can help you here is by looking at medical records, by tearing it all apart for you, and by giving you a second opinion, also talking to doctors and nurses directly. You will see that when I talk to doctors and nurses directly, that the dynamics will change in your favor and that you will see that the negativity that they’re giving you is unfounded, especially if the CT scan looks normal. The EEG might be not showing much activity because your dad might be too sedated still.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

Now, if you want a second opinion when you have a loved one in intensive care, we have created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care at intensivecarehotline.com when you go and 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 get access to 21 ebooks and videos that are only accessible to members. Those ebooks and videos are specifically designed for families of critically ill patients in intensive care that you get exclusive access to.

Now, I have worked in intensive care and critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I have 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 the shadow of a doubt that we have saved lives with our consulting and advocacy. Have a look at our testimonial section and have a look at our podcast where we interviewed our clients, and you will hear that they verify that we help them to save their loved ones’ lives.

Now, I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy for families in intensive care over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you, and I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly, and once again I make sure that you can make informed decisions and have peace of mind, control, power, and influence.

Now, furthermore, we also offer medical record reviews in real-time so that once again, 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 suspecting medical negligence.

Furthermore, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams so that you have a strategy when you go into family meetings. I’ve been in hundreds of family meetings with intensive care teams, and I can represent you there so that you get the best care and treatment and good outcomes for your loved one. Also, keep in mind the families that get the best outcomes for their loved ones in intensive care are the ones that take responsibility.

So, it really takes a mature mind to take responsibility and not blame other people. It’s up to you to make changes. It’s up to you to change the approach that you’re currently taking because you know the approach isn’t working. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be watching this video.

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] with your questions.

If you like my video, 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, what questions and insights you have.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.

Take care for now.