Mom in ICU for 3 weeks and won’t wake up after sedation

[Mel321]

I’m 23 and my mother is 53, she was admitted when we got a call that her kidneys were failing and there they tested her positive for coronavirus. She’s been admitted for 3 weeks. They said her lungs got better and she won’t need the vent. After taking her off of the sedation medication on the 2nd week, she hasn't waken up and they found multiple mini strokes in her brain. They can’t determine how this has affected her since she hasn’t woken up yet. We have FaceTimed her the other day and she opened her eyes but closed them again, she did this multiple times on the FaceTime and we tried to encourage her to wake up. This week they are telling us to decide to do a tracheotomy since shes been on the vent for a while (as she needs it on low without her brain telling her to breathe). They also said she moved her legs a bit today but no neurological responses. I feel really scared, I thought she was getting better. I’m trying to find hope in that she just needs time to wake up. And I hope that the stroke didn’t affect her so severely. I really need my mom in my life. She’s such a fighter has gotten through many preexisting conditions. I want to believe she’ll wake up soon. Am I unrealistic? I can’t think if anything else.

[Videodragons]

I had a tracheotomy and was on a ventilator for about 7 weeks. It took me well over a week to wake up. This was because of the amazing cocktail of drugs they had given me, which take a long time to flush out of the system. I had a rather different problem - septic shock and multi-organ failure - but I thought this might help. Anyway, hang in there and talk to her as much as you can. People do get better from the most awful illnesses.

[Sepsur]

The greater proportion of people survive ICU. In the U.K. the average is 70-80%. I know these figures are still scary but once you are in Intensive Care you are on the edge of life & being looked after by the most amazing staff.

There are some other factors at play beyond what is ‘normal’ recovery in ICU, at present.

Unfortunately because of the unprecedented demand for sedatives used to paralyse people into an induced coma, more favourable drugs are hard to get hold of, so medical facilities are having to resort to ‘blunter’ sedatives - these seem to have harsher side effects - the patients are much much slower at waking, more confusion & delirium when they do, increased neuropathy & myopathy, fatigue & weakness. All these factors are common in people who have been critically ill but it appears it is more exaggeratedly at present. The staff are also having to use more sedative than normal to get the patients to synchronise with the ventilators especially when they are having to prone more frequently.

Although I didn’t have Covid, I suffered from most of the complications associated with it.

I had flu, double pneumonia, septic shock, severe ARDS, multiple organ failure, heart, kidneys & lungs. I had hypoxia, ‘concrete lung’, numerous cross infection & leukaemia. I remained in a coma for 57 days & 90 in ICU. I had delirium, fatigue & severe ICU acquired weakness, muscle waste ( probably 1/3 of my body weight) & neuropathy & myopathy. I also still suffer weakness, joint pain & cognitive dysfunction.

It is very possible for your loved one to come back from the brink - this site is proof.

[Marcita]

Tracheotomy is a good thing now.

It took my mom around 20 days to show signs of conciousness. Before she only had her eyes open and was unresponsive. But they removed her ventilador around day 25th even though she wasn't awake.

She's making baby steps towards recovery. She does something new everyday. It will be a long road for her. But she can communicate.

Good lucky!