Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM, where we instantly improve the lives for Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can make informed decisions, 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 the last BLOG I shared
RIP Alfie Evans! What Families In Intensive Care Can Learn From The Alfie Evans Case!
You can check out last week’s BLOG by clicking on the link here.
In this week’s blog I want to talk about
Why hope is not a strategy when it comes to life or death situations in Intensive Care!
One of the things that strike me daily when I talk to families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care is that they say things like “I really hope that my Mom, Dad, sister brother, husband or wife etc… is going to survive or is going to get better and so on!
Unfortunately, hope is not a strategy that’ll get you very far in Intensive Care, let alone that’ll get you results, because it’s not a tangible strategy and it won’t get you any results!
The best results that families get when they have a loved one in intensive care is when they realize that they need help from a professional who’s been there, done that, because you and your family are so far outside of your comfort zone that you are unable to make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence!
Particularly in the following situations, hope is not and can never be a strategy because the stakes are too high!
If your loved one is in the following, difficult, challenging and often heartbreaking situations and if they are
You will need a better strategy than hope.
I can’t tell you how many families in Intensive Care come to us after their loved one has died and they say things like
- “if I had only known that such a consulting and advocacy service like yours existed”.
- “I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t understand what was happening and I didn’t know how to manage the Intensive Care team…”
- “I was really just hoping for things to turn out well…”
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There it was again, the “H” word.
Hope can and must never be a strategy when it comes to critical illness in Intensive Care! You will need proven strategies that work and that can and will save your loved one’s life, period!
The strategy “hope” can literally kill…
“Hope” mixed with proven strategies is a much better recipe for success!
How do I know?
After nearly 20 years Intensive Care nursing experience in three different countries where I literally worked with thousands of critically ill Patients and their families, where I have also worked as a Nurse Unit Manager for over 5 years and with now consulting and advocating for families in Intensive Care 1:1 on a day by day basis
here at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM, I know Intensive Care inside out, I understand the dynamics and the games Intensive Care teams play inside out so that I can leverage that knowledge to successfully advocate for my clients here at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and help them get the results that they want and deserve for their critically ill loved one!
I’ll give you an example so you understand!
Many families in intensive care come to us and they say things like
- “the doctors told us they need to withdraw treatment tomorrow, literally “pull the plug” on my Dad because it wouldn’t be “in his best interest” to live”
- The doctors and the nurses are so negative, but we believe my Mom can survive this because she is so resilient and has beaten the odds before
- The doctors asked us to sign/agree to an NFR/DNR because they don’t want to “crack” the ribs when doing CPR if my Mom’s/Dad’s heart stops!
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We have to zoom out here for a moment to put things in perspective!
What do all of the statements above have in common?
Those statements do all have in common that families are literally dealing with “life or death” situations every day in Intensive Care and they simply don’t know what to do!
Hope in situations like this won’t cut it, it’s as simple as that!
“To live through an impossible situation,
you don’t need to have the reflexes of a Grand Prix driver, the muscles of a Hercules,
the mind of an Einstein. You simply need to know what to do.”
Anthony Greenback, The Book of Survival
Anthony Greenback sums it up beautifully what to do when you are going through an “impossible situation”.
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The reality and the fact of the matter is that having a loved one in Intensive Care is literally an “impossible situation” and the stakes are so high that hope as a strategy is doomed to fail.
We have helped hundreds of families in Intensive Care to get the outcomes that they want for their loved ones in Intensive Care and by doing so we have saved lives while overtly negative Intensive Care teams wanted to stop or withdraw life support and literally kill people.
How do we do that?
We do that by understanding and analysing your and your critically ill loved one’s situation and we do it by then implement strategies that are proven to work.
Part of what we do is that we use our clinical Intensive Care knowledge and apply it to your loved one’s case.
This includes talking to the doctors and the nurses with you and on your behalf.
We participate in family meetings either in person or over the phone.
We understand how negotiations work in Intensive Care and we can talk on a clinical level to the intensive care team.
Most families can’t talk to the intensive care team on a clinical level and therefore fail to get the outcomes that they want, need and deserve for their loved ones!
For example we understand Patients and families rights in Intensive Care and we can use that knowledge to your and your loved ones advantage.
You can read case studies here or you can listen to our podcast where we have interviewed our clients
Case studies
http://intensivecarehotline.com/category/questions
Podcast
http://intensivecarehotline.com/category/podcast
But we also understand the clinical issues in intensive care and we can make suggestions and recommendations for clinical treatment!
99% of families in intensive care have no idea about their rights and therefore they are unable to make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence!
They just take everything for “face value” the intensive care team is telling them!
Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care also don’t understand the things that are happening “behind the scenes” in intensive care.
If you fail to understand the politics, the dynamics, the hierarchy and the conflicting and competing interests intensive care teams have, you will literally be fighting an uphill battle!
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If you also fail to understand the clinical issues in intensive care you will be unable to ask the right questions and therefore you won’t be able to challenge the intensive care team.
Without you being able to ask the right questions to get to the right answers you won’t be able to make informed decisions, get peace of mind, control, power and influence!
Remember, the biggest challenge for families in Intensive Care is that you simply don’t know what you don’t know!
Therefore “hope” as a strategy is simply doomed to fail!
Instead of using “hope” as a strategy, learn from the experts and let me take you by the hand and walk you through how to get outcomes that really benefit you and your critically ill loved one!
Death for your loved one can’t be an outcome because the Intensive Care unit needs their ICU bed for another Patient and yet that’s unfortunately what often happens.
Without you being privy to this insider knowledge about intensive care, you’ll be fighting a losing battle, period!
Kind Regards
Patrik
