I’m so glad to have found this page. It’s given me massive relief in a way to find positivity from others going through the same struggles. The doctors and nurses have been amazing but there are some questions that remain unanswered so I thought I would ask here. My sister is only 22 and other than having her spleen removed she was healthy before getting coronavirus. She went into ICU on 16th April and was put onto a ventilator for 12 days, she was extubated only to have to be reintubated 4 days later due to ARDS and I wondered what the likelihood of her needing to have a tracheotomy would be? Her oxygen levels seem to be up and down, yesterday she was only needing 40% oxygen and was on spontaneous mode on the ventilator but then by last night she was back to needing 90-100%. Any advice or info people could share would be really appreciated.
ICU with covid19 since April 16th: I’m so glad to... - ICUsteps
ICU with covid19 since April 16th
I couldnt tell you the likely hood - what do you fear about a trachy?
Thanks for replying Sepsur. I guess my worries are whether the tracheotomy is better for her and does this means she is in a worse condition if one is needed. It is so hard to get information from the hospital, we are feeling very cut off not being able to be there.
If your sister is in critical care - she is in the most serious category - having a trachy ( from my experience) doesn’t determine seriousness. If someone is struggling to be weened, they only ideally want to intubate for a specific time, the staff will consider a trachy as part of the stepping down procedure. Your sister may move onto CPAP, PEEP until she can breathe on her own. She is young & strong - I think having no spleen can affect how significantly robustly your immune system can fight off infection. Was she shielding as a matter of interest ( I have a friend with no spleen in the same boat but he received no instruction to shield)?
Right ok. If you don’t mind me asking what is CPAP and PEEP? Yes, she was shielding from the end of march but not on government advice, she didn’t receive a letter telling her to do so.
Have a look on Wikipedia- I can’t get my internet to load at present - bad signal!! Basically it pressurises the lungs
Dear Olivia
Stay strong my wife has had a similar journey and was finally stable enough to have a Tracheostomy (after 40 days intubation) which has aided the start of what will be a very long recovery
Thank you Josh. Wishing the best for you and your wife.
Hi Olivia, so sorry to hear your sister is in this position, I found this site really helpful too. My husband had been on a ventilator for 33 days, several days prior to taking him off the Ventilator he had a tracheotomy, it made the weaning so much easier for him . We have a really long road of recovery head of us, due to the length of time he has been on the ventilator .
Thank you, that’s really helpful to know. Wishing your husband all the best with his recovery. If you don’t mind me asking, how long did it take for him to come round from sedation once he had the tracheotomy?
It has been a slow process, over a week and he is incredibly confused .
Hey Olivia,
So sorry to hear about your sister, she will be in the best hands. I hope it helps you to know that in our experience, my dad had a trach to help the weaning process and to make him feel more comfortable when he wakes up.
Please don’t hesitate to dm me if you have any questions - my dads been in ICU for 7.5 weeks now and is making steady progress.
Cx
Hi, that’s really reassuring to know, thank you. We have been told this evening that it’s looking likely she is going to have one within the next few days. It’s a scary time with all that’s going on and no one able to be there with her. I hope your dad continues to recover well x
Hi Olivia
The procedure is very routine. My wife was much more 'awake' within a couple of days. A week later she is definitely improving. Given her 47 day stint so far it will take a LONG time to recover with physio.
In summary if they are doing a Trachy it is to help your sister recover however scary it may seem
Take care
4 years ago I was on a trachy for about 7 weeks. When I eventually came out of my coma, I don't remember it being much of a problem, even though it stopped me speaking. It's left an interesting little scar, which no one notices (until I draw their attention to it).
That’s good to know that the scar is only small. I know it probably sounds extremely trivia when we are talking about something which could save her life but I worry that it will bother her if she has permanent scaring.
Your sister is so young , I really wish her all the best . This virus really is evil , ripping family’s apart all round the world .
My dad is better since the tracheotomy. This covid is almost the unknown to the doctors and that is the scary part . X
Thank you, I hope your dad is recovering well. We are hoping for some better news today. It’s so up and down. X
My dad is very up and down also. Had a chest drain in yesterday to drain some fluid , it’s one step forward two back . Then this morning they are putting a bigger drain in to get more fluid .
He awake and aware more now and this is a blessing but also upsetting he’s felling more pain. Ow xx
Yesterday her infection markers and temp finally started coming down and oxygen requirement down to 70%. They started weaning the sedation but she got quite distressed last night so they slightly increased and she has settled. Doctor is planning a tracheotomy for tomorrow. We are keeping everything crossed that this means things will keep going in the right direction.
Hi Olivia I buried my mom today she passed away April 30th. From this horrible virus I’m very angry but I’m going to pray for your sister and you. Keep the faith your sister is young and can fight it. Ask the ICU for a FaceTime with her and talk to her She may need to hear a familiar voice to fight and know she’s not alone. Good luck and sometimes you have to speak firmly and keep calling in order to get what you want. Also if they give you a hard time call the head doctor of the hospital and put a complaint but don’t allow them to do what they want when they want.
I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. This virus is so so cruel. My sister took a bad turn yesterday after having trachy done. She’s back to needing 100% oxygen and not improving. We are waiting by the phone to get the update on how she has been overnight. I will definitely mention the face time, as you say, all she might need is a familiar voice. We are praying for a miracle right now.
Let us know how she is today, keeping my fingers crossed for postive news x🤞🏼
Hi,
I’ve spoken to HopefulA about this but my mum has been the same since Saturday. She was doing really well and then shot up to 100% oxygen. Its now Thursday and the Doctor has said she has made very very slight improvements but it back down to 75% oxygen requirement at the moment.
Definetly do the FaceTime. I’ve read that people can hear some things whilst in the coma, even if their brains can’t figure out how to piece the puzzle together so to say on who it is. Were trying to FaceTime mum everyday now and we’ve made a list of keywords to keep trying to use everyday (her closest family names, places she lives, favourite TV shows) hoping that might work. It might be an idea. Hope you start to see some improvements soon x
That’s good that your mom has been improving, I wish her all the best for her recovery. The doctor called this morning and said that they found fluid between the lungs and chest wall and have drained 3 litres of fluid overnight. This mixed with the large amount of secretions has caused hypoxia. Oxygen still at 100% as her sats just fall away the second it’s lowered. We asked about facetime and have been told at the moment it’s not possible as there is so many interventions currently going on, but said to ask again tomorrow. Is it just me that finds the doctors always give worst case scenario and don’t sound very optimistic whereas the nurses always try to give you some hope?
I used to dread the calls from the doctors as they always felt very pessimistic and just made me more worried wheras like you said most nurses were much more hopeful. It does change once they start to stabilise a bit more. My conversations with the doctors over the last week have been a bit more reassuring but obviously realistic about the fact that dad is still very unwell and that's why he is in critical care.
Stay postive and hopeful and sending your sister positive vibes xx
Thank you. I’m glad it’s not just me that feels that way about the doctors. I appreciate how hard they all work but some of them can come across very emotionless on the phone which is very hard to take. How is your dad doing now?xx
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