On march 19 my father was admitted to the hospital for what we believed was gastritis pain he was throwing up at home and very tired. The hospital diagnosed him with pneumonia but on march 21 he was diagnosed with Covid19 he was rushed into the ICU for intubation. The doctors said they never seen someone’s lungs change that fast within 4 hours. My father is also 61 years old, immunosuppressant, a kidney transplant patient, had very slight heart failure. He was then intubated for 5 days then taken off. He remained in the icu for about 5 more days until he was admitted to the main floor. During his stay on the main floor he was doing fine but very very weak. His kidney was not majorly impacted throughout his covid experience. However, his creatinine level went up and they gave him IV fluids for it to go down. Next day, the IV fluid becomes received was so much it went to his lungs causing him to have shortness of breath so he was admitted to the ICU again but only for a day. He was then discharged from the on April 21. A whole month later.
After a week from being home and quarantining in his bedroom he started feeling very sharp abdominal pain and back pain. We admitted him into the hospital again and they diagnosed him with bacterial pneumonia from his stay at the hospital from covid. They admitted him into the ICU again with intubation because he was having trouble breathing. He was intubated for about 2 days then returned to the main floor on was discharged shortly. He stayed for a total of 2 weeks.
After about 3-4 weeks of being home and him regaining himself again. He started having the same pains in his abdomen and back again so he wanted to go to the hospital again to make sure it wasn’t his lungs. They admitted him to the hospital this time because only of his creatinine level being at 1.7 so they wanted to give him IV Fluids they even said his lungs got better. He stayed for a day then got discharged and came home but at home he didn’t look like himself he was very tired and could barely breath at night he was saturating at 88-90% so we admitted him again that same night ASSUMING the IV fluids the hospital gave him went to his lungs. They were giving lasix and stuff for him to pee the fluids out but he wasn’t peeing enough even with the high dosage so they admitted him into the ICU.
The ICU staff was trying their hardest to not intubate him again because this would be his 3rd time in a 3
month span of him being intubated and they were scared at this point it won’t come out instead he could be on it for life or end up getting a tracheotomy. They gave him a nasal canal first then the bipap machine up until the highest oxgyen but he had to get intubated the risks were since his heart weakened he might go into cardiac arrest but the operation went smooth. HOWEVER, the hospital extuabted him 2 days later only to intubate him again because he couldn’t handle it he was very dependent on the ventilator. Now he is on 30% on the ventilators at first he was at 100% but they called us in for a family meeting saying their very concerned because his Heart has gotten worse. His ejection rate is 25% normal is 55% -75%. And he is experiencing renal failure but he is still urinating so they are holding off dialysis. They believe that he won’t ever get off the ventilator because his lungs are so scarred so they want to do the tracheostomy but we should know he probably won’t ever get off and most likely be sent to a long term facility were we can’t see him if he survives this. But his heart is failing and they really don’t have any hope that it won’t get any better. 😢 They let us say our goodbyes to him yesterday even if he gets better or not since theirs no visitations. I don’t know how to feel because doctors give so bad news i’m scared if he won’t make it
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tegegne12
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Bloody hell! I thought my Dad and our family had been through a lot, but this whole period sounds far more horrific for you guys!
I cannot fathom how they’ve reintubated 3 times! Did they not do full assessments first time round?
Obviously, my first thoughts are with your father and your family. I hope and pray he can battle through, but from what you write it sounds like he’s been through more than anything I’ve read on this forum in this whole covid period.
I get the feeling he was too high a risk for a surgical tracheostomy and hence they have weaned him off the ventilator far too early on multiple occasions? It’s gutting that Covid has devalidated the use of percutaenous trachy s (aerosol risk apparently?), but it might be worth asking if this can be done with FFP3 masks/enhanced PPE? Guidance is always changing...there are also multiple specialist slow weaning centres in the uk. Ask if they can be referred there too?
Don’t lose all hope and stay strong. You need to show the icu team you want them to fight hard for your Dad (we had a few difficult conversations too) and do everything they can. May God bless you and your Dad with strength .🙏🏽
thank you! i have been very hopeful but we have accepted things in the family as well but i’m sorry i didn’t understand where there are specialist in the uk for weaning?
I do not know the full intricacies of these slow weaning centres; I only know that there are a very select centres in the uk for this purpose only; where the medics deem it is inevitable that the patient will require a very slow wean due to high co morbidity risk, extensive trauma damage (like Michael Schumacher) etc.
Oh gosh this is awful. Don’t see tracheotomy as a step to not getting better, see it as a step to getting better. I’m not a medical person but it just sounds as if in trying to avoid a tracheotomy they weaned him before his lungs were strong enough. My husband has scarring on the lungs but he has been weaned and now breathing with only level 1 standard oxygen and long periods without. But it took time, he was on a ventilator for 61 days and around 40 of those were with a tracheotomy. It makes it more comfortable for them and they can have less sedation. I was told it’s rare for anyone to require long term ventilation from this, it’s usually if spine injury or MND. His lungs may just need time to recover. Many of us have been in to say goodbye to our loved ones to then find them recover. Where there is life there is hope. Keeping everything crossed for you all. Xx
yes we are hopeful they didn’t really give us a end of life scenario though it’s a possibility but instead if he survives things will forever change i hope everything they say turns out for the best because we all know doctors always have to give u the worst case scenario!
They do and will. What kept me hopeful was the fact that they just don’t know. Patients are not necessarily behaving in the way they expect so there is every hope he will get through this xx
When I asked, retrospectively, what had been my chances of survival. The consultant had said that there weren’t figures for people like me, we were ‘miracles’.
Keep hope!!! Your dad has been fighting soooo hard 💪 and the trachy is defo a step in the right direction!!! Believe and pray that he WILL get better and come home to you all soon 💕
Good grief , you have all been through it. As many of the others have said the trachy is a step forward, each day they are learning more and more re Covid and how to tackle it . He has fought so hard so far, keeping everything crossed for you all. Stay strong and keep fighting for your dad . x
thank you! and he is doing good he is still on a tracheotomy but he is on 5 liters of oxygen now at night they put a speaking valve on him during the day he can finally eat and drink which he is doing quite often now his heart is having no complications as well as his kidney thank god
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