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 "How to play a "HIGH STAKES GAME" that only the Intensive Care team knows HOW TO WIN!"
You can check out last week's BLOG by clicking on the link here!
In this week's PODCAST I want to feature Ellie who I've interviewed on our INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM PODCAST and Ellie was so kind and generous to share her and her Mum's struggles in this interview!
Podcast with Ellie who's MUM has been in Intensive Care for more than 3 months on ECMO for ARDS! Listen to Ellie's story and how she overcame most of the challenges! (PART2)
Listen to the interview here
http://intensivecarehotline.com/podcast-with-ellie-whos-mum-has-been-in-intensive-care-for-more-than-3-months-on-ecmo-for-ards-listen-to-ellies-story-and-how-she-overcame-most-of-the-challenges-part2/
Ellie's Mum has been in Intensive Care for over 3 months and was on ECMO for ARDS(lung failure)
I have interviewed Ellie before while her Mum was still in ICU and you can check out the first interview here.
Podcast with Ellie who's MUM has been in Intensive Care for 6 weeks on ECMO for ARDS! Listen to Ellie's story and how she overcame most of the challenges!(PART1)
Come and be inspired by what Ellie has to share and learn from Ellie's experience! Ellie has also been featured in our "YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED" section with some of her questions.
You can check out Ellie's questions here!
My Mum has been in ICU for three weeks now and she is on ECMO for ARDS! Will she SURVIVE? (PART 1), (PART2), (PART3), (PART4), (PART5) AND (PART6)
But in this week you can listen to Ellie's 2nd part of her amazing, challenging, frustrating but most of all INSPIRING story
and what she and her Mum had to go through after her Mum came off the ECMO, eventually went back to the ward, got readmitted back to ICU and got discharged from ICU again!
Listen to the interview here
http://intensivecarehotline.com/podcast-with-ellie-whos-mum-has-been-in-intensive-care-for-more-than-3-months-on-ecmo-for-ards-listen-to-ellies-story-and-how-she-overcame-most-of-the-challenges-part2/
In the interview Ellie is going to share her
INSPIRATIONAL and difficult journey since her Mum has been in Intensive Care on ECMO for ARDS(lung failure) and also how she worked through this massive and "ONCE IN A LIFETIME" challenge!
In the interview you will discover
- How Ellie stayed sane during this massive challenge
- Why praying helped
Ellie to cope with the challenge
- Ellie kept a diary that helped her and her Mum
- How other readers of our
blog were touched by Ellie's story and ordeal
- Why reaching out to other people is so important if your family member is critically ill in Intensive Care
- Why doing your own research pays dividends
- Why Ellie thinks that in hindsight she spent too much time in ICU and what she should have done instead!
- Discover what SHIFT IN THINKING helped Ellie the most to assume
- PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence
- Ellie and her Mum were incredibly strong and never gave up!
- How Ellie's baby is keeping her Mum motivated!
- What other Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care can learn from Ellie and her Mum's struggles and story!
- Discover why doing your own research when having a loved one critically ill in Intensive Care is paying
dividends!
http://intensivecarehotline.com/podcast-with-ellie-whos-mum-has-been-in-intensive-care-for-more-than-3-months-on-ecmo-for-ards-listen-to-ellies-story-and-how-she-overcame-most-of-the-challenges-part2/
Also, check out our "YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED" section
where I answer all of YOUR questions
http://intensivecarehotline.com/category/questions/
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!
This is another episode of "YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED" and in last week's episode I answered another question from one of our readers and the question last week was from Ellie who has been featured on this week's PODCAST!
"My Mum has been in ICU for three weeks now and she is on ECMO for ARDS! Will she survive?"(PART 6)
You can check out last week's question by clicking on the
link here!
In this week's
episode of "YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED" I want to answer another question from one of our readers and in this week Kim asks
My Mum has been diagnosed with STOMACH CANCER and is in ICU ventilated. CAN I TAKE HER HOME on a ventilator?
Hey Patrik,
thank you for your site. My mom is in Intensive Care in the US. We walked into the Emergency Room as she had shortness of breath and massive weight loss, we knew the cause because a few days before she
had been diagnosed with stomach cancer from another hospital.
They took her into a floor and we talked to oncology and were
planning to start chemotherapy.
Her shortness of breath landed her in the ICU and eventually she got intubated because they say she has pneumonia and probably the cancer has spread to her lungs but they can't tell me that 100%.
They have tried to wean her over the last 7 days to no avail.
Now they are going to do a tracheostomy and we had dialysis today too because they say her kidneys are not
working.
Also her liver blood tests are off and she is yellow.
I just want to get her off the ventilator or even on a home ventilator and get her the heck out of here.
Oncology and Palliative care keep trying to get me to stop treatments and I tell them no. I am here all the time and I have to watch these doctors and nurses like hawks.
I am hoping she will survive this stay so I can get her home.
Again thanks for the site,
Kim
Hi Kim,
thanks for reaching out and for making contact. Often a different perspective is needed in order to tackle the challenges at hand.
And first of all, I am very sorry to hear what you and your mother are going through. It sounds like you and your family are having a tough time.
In any case, here's what you need to know in order to improve your and your mother's situation:
From what you are describing you and your mother have two conflicting views from a medical point of view.
First, there's the Intensive Care team who keeps to be pulling at all strings in order to get your mother out of Intensive Care alive.
On the other
hand you've got the palliative care team and the oncology team who argue that treatment should be stopped.
Contradicting views between different medical and nursing teams in a hospital are quite common
and I have written about this extensively in my FREE "INSTANT IMPACT" Report.
Family members of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care therefore are often caught between two worlds, as both teams often have different interests and every team argues that it's "in the best interest" of the Patient.
What it ultimately boils down to is what you and your Family think is "in the best interest" for your mother and not what anybody else thinks.
Having said that you should certainly listen to both medical teams, take in their points of view and make your decision from there.
Here is
however what you need to know from an Intensive Care perspective.
I understand that your mother has only been recently diagnosed with stomach cancer, therefore it may well be the right thing to do "whatever it takes" to get your mother out of Intensive Care alive.
If you and your family need time with your mother then this might be the way to go. If your mother has a real chance to recover, then this is the way to go.
However, you also
need to look at why the Intensive Care team wants to go to such great lengths in treatment as to dialyse your mother, put a Tracheostomy in and treat the liver failure.
Does the Intensive Care team really believe they can improve your mother's situation by going to such great lengths in treatment or are they treating your mother because they see your mother as someone who can occupy an expensive Intensive Care bed for a while and get some revenue coming through their doors,
irrespective of the outcome?
Another question you should ask the Intensive Care team is whether your mother has been enrolled in a medical research study without your or your mother's consent.
Most Intensive Care Units get Millions of Dollars $$$ through their doors by performing medical research on real Patients in ICU most of the time without them knowing. This is highly questionable from an ethical point of view. You therefore mustn't be shy to bring this up. You don't want your mother to be a guinea pig.
If the Intensive Care team is prepared to go to such great lengths in treatment, they either firmly believe that they can genuinely help your mother or if they don't genuinely believe they can help your mother to improve her situation in the long term, you need to find out quickly. You don't want to have your mother suffering unnecessarily for all the wrong reasons.
Next, I can totally relate to you wanting to take your mother home on a ventilator and
I am a strong advocate for Home Care even for Intensive Care Patients and I will evaluate on that later.
In the meantime, with the Intensive Care team putting in a Tracheostomy and putting your mother on Dialysis I can shed more light on Tracheostomy and Dialysis by directing you to some related articles here(click on the links)
Next, you say that you are basically spending day and night with your mother in Intensive Care and I can resonate with you, however you need to look after yourself!
You have no idea at this stage how long this might go on and your mother needs you one way or another, however by you getting tired, by you getting little sleep, no rest and/or no
proper nutrition you will be falling in a hole soon and you are not doing yourself or anybody else a favour.
Managing your time, managing your energy and the results you are getting by you managing the
people around you are bigger leverage points rather than you spending day and night in Intensive Care. I have written about this as well here:
The 3 most dangerous mistakes that you are making but you are unaware of, if your loved one is a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care
Your mother will need you when she is more alert and awake and in the meantime you need to rethink your strategies so that you don't have to "watch the doctors and the nurses like hawks".
In order for you to have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence you need to start asking the right questions, you need to start pro- actively managing the Intensive Care
team and you can't stay in ICU all the time.
Most Families of critically ill Patients compensate for their inability to manage the Intensive Care team by spending day and night in Intensive Care and burn themselves out in the process.
By the time they have to make some crucial decisions regarding the care of their loved one they make poor choices, because they are burned out and their emotions is what's driving their choices.
Emotions can be a good and healthy sign, however when you are coming to the point that you need to make some CRUCIAL decisions regarding your mother's future you want to have a clear
head.
You won't have a clear head if you spend day and night in Intensive Care!
Here is another article that might help
Be more selfish if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive
Care
Last but not least, you want to take your mother home on a ventilator.
Yes, I am all for home care even for ventilated Patients with
Tracheostomy.
This is definitely the way to go for somebody who has shown that they can't be weaned off a
ventilator.
Given that your mother has just had the Tracheostomy it's too early to look at going home as yet.
Give it a couple of more weeks and see what happens. Then you can reassess your options.
I know you are in the USA and in Australia for example, your mother would be able to go home with specialized home care services such as INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME. You can check
out www.intensivecareathome.com.au
I don't know whether similar specialized Intensive Home Care services are available in the US where you live.
However in the meantime you need to focus on you managing the Intensive Care team so that you can get the results that you want.
I hope that helps Kim.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I can also be available for 30 minutes for a chat via Skype, free of charge.
Thank you& Kind Regards
Patrik
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!
You can also send through your stories and share them on our BLOG for our readers! Just email support@intensivecarehotline.com or leave a comment on our BLOG
Or if you want to be featured on our podcast with your story, just email me at support@intensivecarehotline.com
FREE Video Mini- Course out now!
If you are interested in more FREE education and information if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care, I have created a FREE mini- course
A BLUEPRINT for PEACE OF MIND,
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Also, our cutting edge new
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- what to do if your critically ill loved one is THREATENED with an "NFR"(Not for resuscitation) or "DNR"(Do not resuscitate) order
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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