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 "Why your BODY LANGUAGE may be your biggest obstacle to PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence whilst your loved one is CRITICALLY ILL in Intensive Care!" Youcan read, watch or listen to last
week's update by clicking on the link here!
In this week's blog I
want to share with you The ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM or HOW THE INTENSIVE CARE TEAM IS MAKING DECISIONS whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care!
A BIG THANK YOU!
First of all I want to thank you for being part of the INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM community and I really want to thank you for taking the time to read this blog!
We have had an increased following in recent months and the blog is becoming very popular with the number of visitors to our website by far exceeding our expectations! Therefore a big thank you to our readers and followers!
You are dealing with one of the biggest challenges in your life!
Having a loved one critically ill in Intensive Care is one of the biggest challenges there is during your lifetime! It's nothing short of being a life changing experience and it's often
a "once in a lifetime" experience!
And because you are having a loved one critically ill in Intensive Care it is a "once in a lifetime" experience and you and your Family need to have as much information at hand as possible!
Arming yourself with weapons and getting an unfair advantage!
In fact you need to arm yourself with some weapons or heavy guns so to speak, because after all you don't want to get this "once in a lifetime" experience
wrong!
You also want to get an unfair advantage compared to other Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care!
If you want all of that you have
come to the right place, period!
You see, the sad reality is that 99% of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care have no PEACE OF MIND, they have no control, no power and no influence!
Those Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care have no idea that PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence are even an option if you know what to do and if you are discovering the right information!
It's not your fault
And I know, it's not your fault, because you and your Family have got those long held beliefs that Intensive Care Doctors and nurses are smart, trustworthy and they have gone to
university, so they must have all the answers! In fact society has taught us for centuries that we can trust health professionals!
That's what I thought and believed as well when I first started working in Intensive Care as a Registered Nurse, only to find that there are so many things happening "behind the scenes" and that there are so many politics, dynamics, intrigue and power play that impact on the care and treatment
critically ill Patients receive or don't receive!
And because of all those dynamics at play, wouldn't it be worthwhile if somebody told you about the "elephant in the room" in Intensive Care! Wouldn't it be worthwhile for you
and your Family to know how the Intensive Care team is making decisions whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care?
Wouldn't it be worthwhile for you to know how you can make sure that "What you see is always what you get?"
Related article:
You see every decision, every sentence uttered, every positioning of your critically ill loved one's diagnosis and prognosis and every perception the Intensive Care team has about your critically ill loved one's case is dominated by the "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" in Intensive Care!
This is especially important for you to know if your critically ill loved one is in one of the following situations such as
- They are very unstable and in a very critical condition
- They are in a life threatening situation
- They are in Intensive Care for long-term treatments and long-term stays(including severe
head and brain injuries)
- They are approaching their end of life in Intensive Care
The "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" is dominated by what's happening "BEHIND THE
SCENES"!
You see the reality and the fact of the matter is that if you have come to Intensive Care because you want to visit your loved one who is critically ill, the wheels that are in motion are
beyond your control and you can only have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence if you know what's really happening
and only if you know and understand what's happening "BEHIND THE SCENES"!
After more than 15 years of Intensive Care nursing in three different countries and after working with and looking after literally thousands of critically ill Patients and their Families I
have seen and learned many valuable lessons that I am happily sharing with you here because I believe in transparency and I believe in empowerment for Families of critically ill Patients!
And once again the "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" in Intensive Care is visible for health professionals in Intensive Care but is not visible for Families of critically ill Patients unless they have been made aware of it.
You see, the Intensive Care team has an agenda they need to drive and they are having interests that go way beyond your critically ill loved one's
prognosis and diagnosis and that's what I refer to as the "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM"!
The "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" that you need to know about, especially if your
critically ill loved one is in one of those difficult and challenging situations that I mentioned before are things like
- Does the Intensive Care need the bed for another Patient that is needing an Intensive Care bed?
- Does the Intensive care team think that continuing treating a particular Patient is making them money and/or is putting pressure on the Intensive Care Unit's budget or do they think that they are better off by treating other Patients and suggest or "sell" a "withdrawal of treatment" or a "limitation of treatment" as being "in the best interest" of their critically ill loved one to those Families?
- Does the Intensive Care
team think that if a critically ill Patient is dying in Intensive Care that they could continue treating this particular Patient for a little bit longer and do medical research? Can they do that by "selling" to the Family that there is hope of recovery, even if there isn't and therefore suffering is unnecessarily prolonged? (Medical research generally attracts 5,6 or even 7 figure $$$ funding per year!)
- How can the Intensive Care team efficiently position a long term stay in Intensive Care so that they can still get funding for this Patient and so that they don't have to mention other viable and genuine alternatives such as Home Care for long-term Intensive Care
Patients(i.e. INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME www.intensivecareathome.com.au )
These and many other questions, issues and scenarios are the "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" and the Intensive Care team will consider them one way or another and it manifests in the conversations they are having with you and your
Family!
The grim reality is that you and your Family generally speaking have no idea what's happening "BEHIND THE SCENES" in Intensive Care and therefore you and your Family are basically at the mercy of the Intensive Care
team!
That's not a good position to be in and your and your Family's job is to quickly educate yourself so that you can get PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive
Care!
Also, check out our "YOUR QUESTIONS
ANSWERED" section
where I answer all of YOUR questions
http://intensivecarehotline.com/category/questions/
In this week I answer another question from one of our readers and the question this week is
My mother has CANCER and is in ICU on a ventilator with Tracheostomy and now the INTENSIVE CARE TEAM wants to send her OUT to a LONG-TERM CARE facility, HELP!
Find the answer to this question here http://intensivecarehotline.com/mother-cancer-icu-ventilator-tracheostomy-now-intensive-care-team-wants-send-long-term-care-facility-help/
If you want your questions answered just hit reply to this email or email me at support@intensivecarehotline.com and I'll answer your questions!
Also keep an eye out for our upcoming product launch in the next couple of months! We are NOW finalizing our first product that will help Families of critically ill Patients deal with and take control of
most situations in Intensive Care, even if their loved one is dying!
The product will be an "IN-DEPTH" education product for Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care and a SHORTCUT for Families to control, power& influence! The focus of the education product will be on PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence during the following situations in Intensive
Care
- long-term stays in Intensive Care
- end- of- life situations
- Family meetings
- withdrawal of treatment situations and/or perceived medical futility
- severe head and brain
injuries
The product will be made available in Ebook, Video and Audio format so that our Customers can consume the product in their chosen medium!
If you have any questions about our upcoming products or if you have any suggestions please let me know at support@intensivecarehotline.com
Your Friend
Patrik Hutzel
Critical Care Nurse
Founder& Editor
WWW.INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM
