My father is on the vent for 5 weeks now. He had cardiac arrest 3 weeks ago. Right now they are trying to wake him up. He opens his eyes but has no focus and doesn't respond to commands. They been trying for 2 weeks now and today they told us he had uneven pupils.. so they will do brain tests to see whats going on. He no longer tests postive for covid but the damage is done now and I don't know what will happen..
How long did it take for your loved ones to wake up? Did they have any sort of brain damage?
Also my father keeps losing blood from somewhere.. his hemoglobin keeps dropping and he received 6 units of blood product so far.
Anyone with similar problem? They cant do tests for bleeding because he's too unstable for it.
Thanks
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My Dad was vented for 7 weeks and took a good time to come round.
The drugs used for sedation are very powerful so this can enhance delirium and delay cognition re functioning (happened with my Dad too and others on here if you search).
My Dad has multiple PEs in his chest, thankfully nothing major on his CT brain, though they plan to do an MRI for further testing-I understand covid attacks multiple organs namely lungs, brain, Heart and kidneys, but everyone fairs differently. Fingers crossed it’s just the sedation for your Dad delaying him somewhat.
My Dad also has significant blood loss and required multiple transfusions-have they looked at a possible GI bleed? My Dad also got very bad haematuria from his catheter, so this is also worth exploring.
Wishing your Dad the best of luck! Stay strong. There’s a few of us on there that have ridden the tough wave you are currently on. 🙏🏾
Sorry to hear that you’re having such a worrying time. My husband was in ICU for 9 weeks. After 2 weeks on ventilator they stopped sedation and then we waited a very long time for him to start waking up. It took over 2 weeks . At first he just kept sleeping and the doctors did a CT of his brain to see if it looked normal, and it was clear. After about 2 weeks he started having his eyes open but didn’t seem as if he was actually seeing. His eyes just moved around. He couldn’t focus for ages. 3 weeks after sedation he was able to make more eye contact but it wasn’t until about 4 weeks that he seemed properly conscious and responsive, able to squeeze the nurse’s hand and blink to answer questions.
It’s a long waiting game for the patient’s family while we wait for them to wake up, but lots of people here have had the same issues.
The nurses at our hospital would hold the phone up to my husband’s ear so I could talk to him when he was asleep and hopefully he could hear my voice, something familiar to jog his consciousness. I also sent his favourite music tracks to his phone, which they played to him
I’m also very sorry that you & your family are experiencing this awful disease, it is such a cruel disease.
There are few virus that have this head to toe effect on every organ of the body including the blood vessels. Whilst this is an agonising period of time for you, I hope you can take some comfort from this forum. People do survive when it really doesn’t look promising at all. With the right rehab, they can retrieve a great deal of their former lives. Survival took belligerence & rehabilitation takes pigheaded determination. I hope you receive more promising news about your Dad.
Sorry to hear about you dad - I didn’t have the virus but did have a heart op and pneumonia. I was on ventilation for 6-8 weeks. I did have quite a few blood transfusions. My wife has said that I wouldn’t wake up despite them trying different things and then suddenly I started to come round. I came home in the middle of March after being in the QE Birmingham for 3 months. He will probably need a lot of support once he does come round and he could well be angry things will improve.
Completely agree - one of the hardest things for my family ( after ICU) was being confronted by the reality of how compromised I was. Emotionally, mentally & physically - their fear was that they would never get me back.
Our experience as a family, is that life has changed for ever - nothing is taken for granted
My mom had a stroke while in coma due to covid. She took about 3 weeks to show signs of consciousness. She's fine now but can't move much and she's making physiotherapy.
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