How to quickly become resilient whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care
Published: Fri, 01/10/14
instantly improve the lives of Families of critically ill Patients
in Intensive Care, so that you can have real power, real control
and so that you can influence decision making, even if you're
not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
In last week's blog I've shown you "The 3 things you
need to anticipate if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive
Care(and it's not what you think it is)" You can read,
watch or listen to last week's update here.
http://intensivecarehotline.com/?p=4585
In this week's blog I want to show you "How to quickly
become resilient whilst your loved one is critically ill in
Intensive Care"
One of the biggest challenges if your loved one is critically ill
in Intensive Care is to manage yourself and your Family.
Very few experiences and events in life are as challenging and
stressful as having a loved one critically ill in Intensive Care.
It's not only that you, your Family and your critically ill
loved one feel challenged, stressed, frustrated, scared,
overwhelmed, vulnerable and out of your comfort zone. It's also
that fear and the feeling that you have no control, no power and no
influence about the event whatsoever.
It is therefore that you feel that you are absolutely powerless,
that you have no control and that you are unable to influence any
decision making whatsoever.
Not a good position to be in...
Especially since the Intensive Care team has all the perceived
power and is driving the bus...
What often helps in a situation like this is to be resilient,
because after all, you and your Family don't know how long your
loved one is remaining critically ill in Intensive Care and you
don't really know what's around the corner so to speak.
Furthermore, it helps to be resilient if your critically ill loved
one remains in Intensive Care for a long time or even worse, if
your loved one is dying in Intensive Care.
Both situations, if your loved one remains critically ill in
Intensive Care for longer than expected and if your loved one is
approaching their end of life in Intensive Care are screaming for
you to become resilient quickly. It's one of those core skills
that you must have in those challenging, frustrating and stressful
situations.
Support for Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care
is hard to come by...
The unfortunate reality is that support for Families of critically
ill Patients in Intensive Care is literally non- existent!
Hospitals and Intensive Care Units tend to be so focused on the
clinical things at hand and also on driving their agenda that they
totally forget that it's not only the Patients who suffer, but
it's the Families who suffer the most, because Families are at
a loss of what to do and they are at a loss of what support is
available to them, if any.
Therefore, your job is to become resilient quickly during this
stressful and challenging time, whilst your loved one is critically
ill in Intensive Care, hands down!
And how exactly do you become resilient quickly during this
stressful and challenging time?
You see, one of the biggest challenges that I have seen in more
than 15 years Intensive Care nursing experience in three different
countries is that Families of critically ill Patients are so
overwhelmed and paralysed by having a loved one critically ill in
Intensive Care that they often don't know right from wrong,
they don't know left from right and they are just simply at a
loss of what to do. They are literally often running around like
headless chickens...
Don't get "stuck" in fear and frustration
Therefore, you and your Family need to have somebody who has walked
in your shoes, show you what you need to do and how you can quickly
become resilient, so that you have control, power and influence.
You see the Intensive Care team has built some resilience when
dealing with critically ill Patients and their Families, because
they have done it for a long time and they know how they can
exercise power, control and influence over you.
And you may have already had a feeling or an impression of what
that means and looks like for you and for your Family. The
Intensive Care team is running the show and that feels and seems
especially frustrating for you and for your Family if you don't
know what's happening and if you don't know what the next
few days or even the next few hours have in stall for you, for your
Family and for your critically ill loved one!
The Intensive Care team may have been very vague and they may not
have been very good at communicating with you and with your Family
about the exact things that are happening...
Part of what the Intensive Care team is doing is your own fault...
CONTINUE READING BY clicking on this link
http://intensivecarehotline.com/?p=4682
Also check out our weekly question answered and in this week you
can read the second part of
"How can I be prepared, be mentally strong and be well
positioned for a Family meeting with the Intensive Care team?(PART
2)" http://intensivecarehotline.com/?p=4686
I hope you've gotten some strategies and tips out of this
week's update and send me an emial with your questions and
comments to support@intensivecarehotline.com and I personally
respond!