My father in ICU

[lauraaholmess]

So my father had a massive heart attack on the 15th of October, after going to the nurse two days before and she sent him home saying nothing was wrong with him even though his blood test came back as abnormal. He had a stent fitted immediately, and went to hospital. He ended up in intensive care and we were told that he only had 2 hours to live, but the oxygen helped him and he started to recover. He was recovering well until 27th of October he got he became really ill and it turns out he had gotten pneumonia and another several infections on top of that. He was rushed into intensive care again on the 28th, delirious and the liquid in his lungs wont fully go properly, and he was put into an induced coma as his body was too weak by itself and he had not slept for two weeks so he was hallucinating, it also turns out he has a blood clot in his heart, his lung collapsed and his kidneys are failing. The doctor said usually after a heart attack after over 2 weeks the heart would at least repair a tiny bit, but the echo shows that his heart has not slightly recovered at all. Of course he's really close to dying but is there any chance that his certain position at the moment he could live? Will his kidneys and lungs be able to repair themselves if they got rid of the pneumonia and how easy is pneumonia to treat? If so how many days would it take before they could wake him from the coma and he could start to breathe better and start recovering? Sorry for the many questions but there are some questions the doctors just wont answer as they aren't supposed to. He is only 56 years old. Too young to go like this.

[Mick491]

I had a heart attack 4 years ago aged 52 and had an emergency sent fitted. I spent 24 hours in ICU which was fairly standard before being transferred to the high dependency unit. I was let home within 3 days but readmitted with pneumonia that was 'hospital aquired' and spent a further 9 days in hospital mainly because my bloods for CLL went haywire. I'm a non smoker and the consultant thought the intensive chemo could have contributed to the MI. I know this dosnt answer your questions but our bodies all react differently to the pressures on it. I hope your father recovers soon.

[Hidden]

Hi. I am the same age as your father and I had 2 heart attacks earlier this year, with two stents being fitted. Each person will react differently to trauma like this, and the response will partly be decided on the overall fitness of that person. Of course it is unfortunate that hospitals can be the cause of additional illness and stress. The honest answer to your questions is that no one can say how any individual will respond to trauma and its treatment. The reason for the doctors not answering your questions might simply be that they dont know the answers. It is an unfortunate fact that some doctors will not like us to know that they dont have all the answers we require. No one has all the answers to everything. The fact is that they will be doing their best to help your father survive and recover. I am sure that your dad can feel your love and concern. I truly believe that this will help him in his struggle too. Take one day at a time. I am sorry that I cannot be more useful, but I do hope that things get better for you and your dad.

[Jacqbat]

So sorry to hear about your dad, it must be awful for you waiting to see if he improves. Hopefully your dad was fit before this event and will be strong enough to recover. I'm sure the doctors will be doing all they can for him. His age is on his side so hopefully he will make a good recovery. Take care. Sorry I can't help with the medical info.

[lauraaholmess]

Thanks for the responses guys. Today I found out he had a full blood transfusion due to bleeding from his 'backside' and the are going to give him a tracheostomy and try to wake him tomorrow after 9 days in the coma. I'll be going with my brother and mum. But everything is looking slightly better as his white blood cells have decreased a bit.

[lauraaholmess]

How do I remove this post? Unfortunately he was withdrawn from treatment and died on the 23rd of November.