My step dad

[TAGGAT]

Hello,

I just wanted to write and see if anyone might have any thoughts on my step dads current condition!

He fell ill and was in bed on a Wednesday but nothing too serious he was still watching telly and on his laptop but as the week went on he got worse but didn't want to phone the doctor, the following Tuesday I called 111 as he really didn't seem too well and after a phone consultation they told me to speak to his doctor who immediately phoned him an ambulance!

He was diagnosed with double pneumonia and quickly deteriorated while in hospital with lung heart and kidneys all being supported and after a week we were told he had severe septicaemia. On the Wednesday the week after he was admitted to hospital we were told that he had blood in his lungs and he just wasn't getting enough oxygen into his system despite being on 100%, his salt and what not was all very low in his blood tests and his chances of pulling through were incredibly slim. The next day everything started to improve very slightly and they have been able to reduce his oxygen to 80% but they are concerned he could lose his feet at this point. Now here we are on Friday, and I'm just wondering if anyone on here has been through something similar? did they pull through? Did they discover what the cause of it all was? My step dad is usually a very healthy man and at only 50 years old it's been a massive shock to see him this way! I'm feeling so helpless and would just love some reassurance that everything could be okay!

Thanks

X

[Luckyone]

Hi Taggat,

I went through exactly the same thing 5 years ago I was 52, I had a chest infection that turned into double pneumonia along with severe sepsis & multiple organ failure, which was later complicated with ARDS, my wife and family were told I had less than a 10% chance of survival but somehow I came through it, I spent 3 months in ICU 2 months completely missing, suffering respiratory arrest when a mucus plug the size of a golf ball broke away from my lung which caused 2 cardiac arrests, received 8 units of blood and had a chest drain along the way.

I became quite a celebrity with the doctors & nurses who were amazed with my fight for life, so never give up hope your step dad is fairly young and healthy so has a good chance of coming through it, my wife was told the same thing by the doctors that's why they never gave up treating me even when things look bad.

The human body has amazing powers of healing, it can be a long journey with many ups and downs along the way, so try and stay positive, look after your own health as that is very important to.

[muncii]

Hi Taggart - I agree with Luckyone's comments, and like him, I became something of a celebrity, pulling through ICU .

I had a Boerhaave spontaneous oesophageal rupture which took a long time to diagnose (nearly 48 hours in A + E) by which time my lungs were in a bad state and I needed emergency surgery. So I was twice on a ventilator, had a mucus plug, tracheotomy etc etc in ICU

You say that your step-dad is normally a healthy chap: I think this contributes to the shocking impact of being admitted to ICU, that a normal healthy person can deteriorate and develop a life threatening illness so very quickly. It can make you feel very vulnerable. (I too was normally healthy before my hospital admission)

I've read several posts on this site in which people such as your step dad - ie very ill indeed - have pulled through, so I hope you find this helpful, and that it encourages you to be positive (very difficult, in the circumstances, of course). Take each day as it comes, and little by little you will see an improvement. People do have amazing powers of healing.

If it helps and is of some comfort, do check in to this site , and post again if y ou want to. In my experience, not many people know much about ICU - well I suppose it's not usually part of one's everyday life - but here you will find real empathy and good advice. it has certainly helped me.

[TAGGAT]

Thank you! Hopefully he will keep fighting, the nurses have been quite shocked to keep seeing him still there and still fighting each day they come in but it's hard to stay positive in case he takes another bad turn! I think we have decided to keep a diary of each day so that when he hopefully starts to recover he will be able to look back on it. It is reassuring to know that you both managed to pull through! The nurse told us yesterday that the level of infection is beginning to go down so it hopefully means one of the antibiotics he is on is actually working but they're unsure which one it might be, I guess I'll just have to keep holding on to the small things!

Thank you again I'll try and keep this up to date on how he gets on!

X

[TAGGAT]

Just spoke to the doctor and they have told us he has mutiple organ failure, his kidneys have packed up completely and his chances are still very slim if not more so! He isn't breathing for himself at all any more! Does anyone know what his chances are from here? Can I even still be hopeful? I just don't know!

[muncii in reply to TAGGAT]

Hi Taggat - hang on in there and don't give up hope. Easier said than done, of course. Make sure you look after yourself at this difficult time.

[Luckyone]

Hi Taggat,

Never give up hope however slim the chance is, I was on a ventilator for 19 days before I could have a tracheotomy as I was so ill, also on dialysis for 6 weeks as the severe sepsis had caused multiple organ failure, the sepsis was so bad the dialysis machine filters were being changed ever hour and blood taken every 15 mins, I think they tried every drug available to find one that worked.

I can't say what your step dad's chances are as I can only see it from a former patients view, but my daughter who was just 20yrs old at the time would always pick up on all the positives the doctors said, all I suggest even though it's very difficult you try and do the same and as for keeping a diary for him is a great idea, my wife kept one for me, my daughter taking over on the days she felt it was pointless, I'm so glad they did as I had the first 53 days completely missing, for me those days were full of some of the most frightening nightmares and hallucinations, to have a diary of what was really happening not only to me, but also who would visit and what was happening in the families lives and their thoughts.

My thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time, and look forward to hearing your step dad is continuing to improve and will one day will join our exclusive club of ICU survivors.

Bill

[TAGGAT]

Hello again, just wanted to thank you all for your input it was hugely appreciated! Unfortunately despite his best efforts my step dad passed away yesterday morning! I'm feeling so completely lost, I really hoped there would be a different outcome, it all just seems so pointless and such a massive waste of an amazing life!!

Thanks again! X

[muncii in reply to TAGGAT]

Condolences, Taggat: very sad for you and your family.

[angelrock in reply to TAGGAT]

Very sad and sorry for your loss, my thoughts go out to you. xx