advice

[liannexxx]

Looking for advise,dad had operation tuesday went wrong,had emergency surgery Wednesday but now heavily sedated on a ventilator and mild organ failure, every time they remove sudatiom his observations go wrong so they sedate again, today Wednesday 19th August they will try to wake him again with relaxant medication in his system too. They said if they cant wake him they will give him a tracheostomy as they belive its the ventilator thats causing him to be really agitated.. i guess what I'm asking for is what will happen next. We can't be there with him and feels like we've abandoned him and praying for a miracle but at the same time facing the unknown. Thanks kindly

[FamilyHistorian]

Hi liane

The way everyone is effected is different. I had a replacement valve and was sedated / ventilated with a trachy for 6-8 weeks I just wasn’t ready to come round. I had other infections as well.

So at the moment it is very early for your dad he may come out of it quite quickly on the other hand it could be a while. The longer under will mean loss of weight and muscles. I had to learn to swallow and talk and then walk. Getting strength back takes time. I came out mid March.

I was lucky in that I had visitors although I guess it was just as bad for them as not visiting. The hospital may have arrangements for using tablets etc which would mean you could see him if nothing else. I always think that the best advice is look after yourself.

[Sepsur]

As I started to come round, one of the things that struck me was how kind and thoughtful the nurses were. In intensive care there is one nurse to one patient, I was never physically alone - I was certainly confused & not really sure who anyone was ( including myself) just thankful to be being looked after so well despite all the obvious discomfort. The trachy was a blessing ( as far as my family was concerned) because it was a positive move towards me waking up and being eventually wheeled off ventilation. When I woke with it, it was an unpleasant inconvenience, the trachy.

When my family visited me as I was coming out of sedation, they said that I was agitated & confused on occasion, other times I appeared very still & guarded. Some of the sedatives & paralysing agents can give people vivid dreams which might be making your Dad agitated. ICU delirium is common in about half of all critical care patients. On this link are various pdfs that will help to explain.

Intensive care guide & delirium guide hold a lot of valuable info.

icustepschester.org/informa...

[stevet11753]

There's often a lot of concern on here among relatives about trachys, but to me as a patient it was a blessing. The intubation tube in my throat was causing me a lot of distress when I was coming out of coma. I can vaguely remember the doctors and nurses standing over me while they performed the tracheostomy procedure. It was the start of the weaning process which took nearly three weeks. It takes time.

Don't feel that you've abandoned your dad, there are ways you can be there for him. The nursing staff should be able to assist you in this.

[liannexxx]

Thanks all dad has responded to waking from sedation had his eyes open on and off and get upset when his wife left... hopefully this is the start of getting him home

[Melangel in reply to liannexxx]

Hows your dad? I am in the same situation at the moment and ım hoping my mum wakes up soon 🙏

[chloewirex]

My mum was in an induced coma in January this year due to what I now think was Covid 19 but at the time they didn't know what this was, they just said an infection.

She was asleep for 2 weeks and she was gagging on the tube constantly going bright red and then they performed a trachy. She woke up after a day or two but was very confused and she had hallucinations. Mum seemed 'normal' after a week.

The ICU nurses are amazing, stay positive! xxxxx