Mom Covid Trach but still not awake

[Axogirl49]

My mom still isn’t waking up yet. They’re going to run some more tests on her brain to see what’s going on. From those results the next discussion will be a tracheotomy? Since they can’t take her off the ventilator since she cannot wake up or follow commands. Is it cruel to put her through a trach? Are they permanent? Her kidneys have also totally failed. I’m so torn about how much we should put her through and what her quality of life will be afterwards?

[Sepsur]

A trachy is a good positive sign, although for some they are permanent, most aren’t- I had mine for maybe 2-3wks. I then moved onto CPAP & then PEEP on the way to being weened off ventilation.

It does appear that COVID patients are taking longer to wake. Some of this is because staff are having to sedate patients to a deeper level to get them to synch with the ventilators better - especially when patients are frequently proned. As you have appreciated, your Moms kidneys aren’t working well - so it will be taking her longer to expel the sedatives from her system.

There is also the added complication that there is a shortage of the normal sedatives that they use to paralyse patients - so medical staff are resorting to other meds which have other legacies - increased cases of ICU delirium, confusion.

[Marcita]

My mom took 21 days to show conscious signs after the sedation was stopped. Her kidneys were bad but they are recovering now.

Tracheotomy is a good thing.

Your mom is doing good. Just give her time and continue medically supporting her. Her body is going through a lot...

[Pendolf]

My husband wasn't waking up for over a week after being taken off the sedation. His eyes opened slightly, but nobody was home. They gave him a tracheostomy to get him off the ventilator and he became alert soon after that. It took some time, but he's now out of ICU and in a ward and has started walking. Everyone's different, but it worked for him and he has kidney problems, but sometimes it takes some time for them to kick back in. We're hoping for the best. Don't give up hope!