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 talked about
Having your loved one critically ill in Intensive Care- follow your gut and intuition!
You can check out last week’s blog by clicking on the link here.
In this week’s blog I want to talk about
Is a meaningful recovery possible when your critically ill loved one is on the brink of dying in Intensive
Care?
Before I get into today’s topic I want to share a quote with you that I wrote on today’s topic and the quote says
“When your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care only you and your family can give meaning to the situation! Even when the going gets tough- as it most
likely will- you and your family are the only ones who can truly decide what meaning you attribute to this “once in a lifetime” challenge when your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care!
This includes whether you and your family believe whether your critically ill loved one can and will have a “meaningful recovery”
after their stay and ordeal in Intensive Care!
This goes hand in hand with whether you and your family believe that your critically ill loved one will have any future “quality of life” after their stay and ordeal in Intensive Care!
Both
terms “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” are overused terms in Intensive Care, especially by the Intensive Care team who wants to stay in control of the interpretation of those terms. They are often using their interpretation of the terms “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” to convince or even coerce you into believing that neither is possible or achievable and therefore try
and “sell” you and your family on their mainly “hidden agenda”.
The fact of the matter is that if you and your family believe
that your critically ill loved one can and will have future “quality of life” and/or a “meaningful recovery” chances are that they will.
That doesn’t mean that the meaning you attach to “quality of life” and/or “meaningful recovery” correlates with the Intensive Care team’s views on the issue. However, the bottom line is that only
you, your family and your critically ill loved one can decide what “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” means for you, irrespective of Intensive Care teams agendas.”
So let’s get into today’s topic,
Is a meaningful recovery
possible when your critically ill loved one is on the brink of dying in Intensive Care?
If your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and is facing any of the following situations
there is a very good chance that you and your family are wondering whether your critically ill loved one can have any future “quality of life” and/or a “meaningful recovery”!
And after more than 15 years Intensive Care nursing in three different countries, where I literally worked with thousands of critically ill Patients and their families and where I also worked as a Nurse Unit Manager for more than 5 years, I have literally seen the difference between the very few families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care who had peace of mind, control, power and influence,
compared to the 99% of families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care who didn’t…
“Quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” needs to be your focus, irrespective of the Intensive Care team’s point of view!
And I can assure you that the very few families of critically ill
Patients in Intensive Care who have peace of mind, control, power and influence are also the very few families in Intensive Care who have a clear view on the situation and the challenges that they and their critically ill loved one are facing!
And by that I mean that they have a clear view on the main issues that sooner or later all families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care have to
face.
And the issues are mainly around “quality of life” and/or “meaningful recovery” for your critically ill loved one!
And those terms are way overused by the Intensive care team for their own good.
What
does “quality of life” mean? What does “meaningful recovery” mean?
You and your family need to decide and nobody else.
“Quality of life”, as well as “meaningful recovery” are very subjective terms and anybody who claims to have all the answers to it most likely
won’t.
Intensive Care teams think that they have all the answers when it comes to “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery”!
The reality and the fact of the matter is that the minute a Patient leaves Intensive Care alive, the Intensive Care team has
no idea to what “quality of life” a Patient will go on to, because there is no follow up weeks or months later…
Therefore I argue that Intensive Care teams have no idea what they are talking about when they want to predict what “future quality of life” or “meaningful recovery” means for a critically ill Patient in Intensive
Care and their family.
Again, the terms have been overused by Intensive Care teams for way too long with no real data to back it up what Patients and their families experience after they have left Intensive Care alive.
Recommended:
“Quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” can have many facets!
“Quality of life” for you, your family and for your critically ill loved one can mean that you would be happy that your critically ill loved one can spend time at home with family even when
dependent on other people!
“Quality of life” and/or “meaningful recovery” can mean that your critically ill loved one is going home on a ventilator with tracheostomy with the help and support of specialised services like INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME (check out www.intensivecareathome.com.au for more information) instead of staying in Intensive Care long-term or longer than necessary.
“Meaningful recovery” can mean to leave Intensive Care alive and spend the last 6 months of one’s life at home with loved ones and family and approach their end of life at home surrounded by family.
And here I throw in another term that I believe is hardly used at all in Intensive Care, but should be used more
often, the term “Quality of end of life”.
Again, a “meaningful recovery” in or outside of Intensive Care could lead to short but meaningful “Quality of end of life”.
The bottom line is that you decide what quality
you, your family and your critically ill loved one want.
The bottom line is that you decide what meaning you attach to a recovery for your critically ill loved one…
There is no right or wrong from a family or Patient perspective, you need to decide.
But it’s not OK to use
the perception of Intensive Care teams about “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” outside of Intensive Care to dictate your wishes or desires.
Are Intensive Care teams biased about “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” for obvious reasons?
There is way too much at stake for the Intensive Care team to not be biased about “quality of life” or “meaningful recovery”, because the agenda of the Intensive Care team, what they say, how they say it and when they say it is always a direct result of what’s happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care!
The agenda of the Intensive Care team and their perception about “quality of
life” and about “meaningful recovery” is always a direct result of the politics, the dynamics, the psychology , the hierarchy and the intrigue in Intensive Care!
And if you and your family don’t understand what’s happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care, you will have a hard time to position your critically ill loved one and yourself in a positive light!
If you and your family don’t understand what’s happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care the Intensive Care team will continue to position your critically ill loved one’s diagnosis and their prognosis in a negative light and they will continue painting a “doom and gloom” scenario.
On the other hand, if you have a good handle and a good understanding about the moving parts in Intensive Care and if you and your family can
speak to the Intensive Care team like no other family in Intensive Care can, you will get results and you will be treated differently!
Recommended:
The Intensive Care team's opinions and views about “quality of life” and/or “meaningful recovery” are in direct correlation in how they view you and your family and they know that the vast majority of families in Intensive Care are weak and have no peace of mind, no control, no power
and no influence!
The Intensive Care team knows that because you and your family have no clue about Intensive Care and the works “behind the scenes” it’ll be easy for them to sell you on their mainly “hidden agenda”…
Again, what’s happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care is almost always a result in how the Intensive Care team views “quality of life” and/or “meaningful recovery”.
Therefore if you don’t understand what’s happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care and if you don’t have a clear view about “quality of life” and “meaningful recovery” for your critically ill loved one, irrespective of the Intensive Care team’s point of view, you can’t be in control of your and your critically ill loved one’s fate and destiny…
Your friend
Patrik
Hutzel
Get ONE on ONE consulting with Patrik via Skype, over the phone or email(click on the link)
Skype ID patrik.hutzel
phone 415- 915-0090 in the USA/Canada
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If
you have a question you need answered, just hit reply to this email or send it to me at support@intensivecarehotline.com
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Your Friend
Patrik Hutzel
Critical Care Nurse
Founder& Editor
WWW.INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM