Dad in ICU

[Lovefamily86]

Hi all my 58 year old dad has been in ICU since February 6th I believe.

He has copd and some sort of respiratory virus or pheunomia.

He has been sedated ever since.

I'm just scared I don't wanna lose my dad.

How long will he be under the sedative?

This week their is talks of doing a trach?.

I just really want my dad back and I'm hopeless and worried because I don't know when I will have my dad back

[Sepsur]

From my limited experience, a trachy is a sign of progress. They are looking to remove intubating tube and start to wake him up - ICU is scary but most people survive ICU. I hope he starts to improve soon

[sonyahmaree]

Hi I am so sorry about your dad. It is a normal thing to want to know how long things are going to take. My daughter was in an induced coma for 4 weeks last year due to contracting influenza A. She was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and ARDS and the first thing we were told by the doctors was 'don't look at numbers on screens and try not to look too far ahead'. It is truly a day by day thing. Things can change from one hour to the next. Progress depends on the individual. Everyone is so different. My daughter was first intubated normally, but because she was not showing progress after about 1 and a 1/2 weeks, doctors chose to do a tracheotomy. I asked why (I was freaked out by this) and the doctors said it is a much better for long term coma patients as the tube sits closer to the lungs then it does with the mouth one, so if is safer for air delivery. Also it is much easier to remove any pus/phlegm. Her lungs had what is called 'white out' where there is so much pus and inflammation in her lungs that no air can get in them so the lungs on an xray are totally white instead of dark. Because of the infections, they had to do what they called bronchial suctions throughout each day. The tube would go down into the wind pipe and suck out any gunk. They also said if she got well enough to come out of the coma, it would be more comfy for her. Just try to be positive. Sit with him, hold his hand and talk to him. I spent every second i could with my daughter because they told us She only had a 5% chance of survival. She flatlined twice, her kidneys shut down completely, she got bacterial pneumonia on top of the other infections and her asthma flared up. She was on an ECMO machine for 44 days. No one not even the nurses thought she was going to pull through. But after all that she lived. She is getting better every day. So try to stay positive. Ask the doctors and nurses all of your questions too. Sending you good thoughts and I hope you see signs of him recovering soon. xx

P.S We also kept a diary for my daughter about everything. She was very grateful too. Even though it was upsetting it really helped her because she had no idea what happened. Dates days times everything. Even photos. This is not for everyone but just a thought.