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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: My Mother’s Been in ICU for 5 Days After Cardiac Arrest, ICU Says Tracheostomy or Let Her Die! Help!

If you want to know what you should do if your mom has been in ICU for five days with a cardiac arrest and is on a ventilator, stay tuned because I have news for you!

Hi, my name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I have another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, I have an email here from Raelia who says,

“Hi Patrik,

My mom is 61. She had a heart attack and cardiac arrest for 30 minutes. It has been five days. She is awake, she’s breathing on her own, she reacts to stimuli, and she will use her eyes and head to follow you. We are not sure to the extent of her brain injury, but all the signs are giving us hope. She is still on the ventilator because she isn’t following commands, and the doctors are afraid she won’t be able to clear her airway. We need to make a decision on putting in a tracheostomy or, and she puts this in quotes, ‘letting nature run its course.’”

Well, thank you, Raelia for writing in. It is abundantly clear to me that, in your email, you are suffering from the same blind spots, that 99.9% of families of critically ill patients in intensive care suffer from, which is the biggest challenge 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.

So why am I saying that? Well, at this point in time, you are not asking the right questions here. So, I have worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I have been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care all around the world since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. I can say with much confidence that we have saved many lives with our consulting and advocacy. You can verify that in our testimonial section or at our podcast section at intensivecarehotline.com where you can listen to some client interviews.

So, let’s get back to Raelia’s question. Now, it’s only been five days which is not a long time for your mom in ICU after a cardiac arrest and a heart attack, not a long time.

So first off, don’t buy into the intensive care team’s narrative that you need to make a decision, and that potentially either (1) your mom may need a tracheostomy or (2) you need to let nature run its course, which is basically a euphemism for letting your mom die or ICU sometimes also hasten death, which is euthanasia, which is also illegal by the way. So, I hope that sets the scene for you.

So, what are the questions you should be asking? The first question you should be asking is, “What can we do to get my mom off the ventilator and avoid the tracheostomy because it’s only been five days?” Now, stay with me here. If someone can’t be weaned off a ventilator after about Day 10 to Day 14, then it’s inevitable that patients need a tracheostomy, but it’s only Day 5 and ICU is already trying to create this narrative for you, “We can’t help your mom and we can’t get her off the ventilator.” So, it’s (1) do a tracheostomy or (2) let nature run its course and let her die.

So, forget about all of that. Your question needs to be, “How can my mom be weaned off the ventilator, get extubated, which is the removal of the breathing tube and avoid tracheostomy?” That needs to be the question that you need to seek answers to, and I can help you with that because I’ve written an article and made a video about how to wean a critically ill patient of the ventilator and the breathing tube. I’ll put a link in the written version of this blog.

So, next question here is, is your mom still sedated? So, you’re saying she reacts to stimuli, and she will open her eyes and follows you but you’re not sure about the extent of her brain injury. Have they done a CT scan of the brain? Have they done an MRI scan of the brain? Have they done an EEG of the brain? Have you spoken to a neurologist? But also, is she still sedated on propofol, midazolam/Versed, Precedex? Is she still on opiates such as morphine, fentanyl? Is that delaying waking up?

Also, with cardiac arrest and potential hypoxic brain injury, there’s a risk of that she might have some seizures. If she’s having seizures, is she on anti-seizure medications such as Keppra, Phenytoin, or other benzodiazepines potentially that also have a sedative effect that might delay her waking up.

So, with all of that said, now you can see that you need to change your approach and you need to question everything. Intensive care teams have an agenda to empty their ICU beds as quickly as possible. ICU beds are in high demand, they are very expensive, costs $5000 to $6000 per bed day to facilitate an ICU bed.

So, what is the worst-case scenario for an ICU team? The worst-case scenario for an ICU team and for a hospital is to look after someone indefinitely with an uncertain outcome. Now, I think your mom pretty much fits that criteria at this particular point in time, it could change quickly. She might wake up tomorrow. Hopefully, that’s the case. But if she’s not waking up as quick as the ICU team would like, then she presents their worst-case scenario.

So, focus on getting your mom off the ventilator and the breathing tube, that’s what you should be doing and not worry too much about does she need a tracheostomy? Is she going to die? Their job is to keep her alive, making sure she can get best care and treatment.

Now, if you want best care and treatment for your critically ill loved one and you want to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence when you have a loved one in intensive care, we actually have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care and you can get access and become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com if you click on the membership link or if 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 exclusive access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded with all my decades worth of intensive care nursing experience, and this material will help you once again to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence.

Furthermore, 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 the doctors and nurses directly. I handhold you through the process. I make sure you are two steps ahead of the intensive care teams.

You’ve already seen now today, when I answered the question for Raelia, that hopefully now she’s two steps ahead of the intensive care team and she knows what she needs to do to turn this situation around, which is really start asking the right questions and understand that intensive care team’s agendas are often not aligned with your agenda. It’s time to create your own narrative.

Now, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams, once again, making sure you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment.

We also offer medical record reviews in real time so that 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.

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 support@intensivecarehotline.com.

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, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show and you will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel or if you subscribe to our email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.

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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