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Trigger warning parent in ICU.

9 replies

Hollyhobbi · 08/11/2022 01:04

Not sure where to post this but my elderly parent is in an induced coma in an attempt to control the continuous seizures they have been having for the last day and a half. My other parent is 80 years old and actually told the doctor that they aren't able to take on board the information the staff have been giving them. My niece is a 5th year student doctor and was with my parent at the time and she also asked if another family member could be given updates but this was refused. So my 80 year old parent was phoned at 7am yesterday morning instead of 9.30am as they were promised and told that my other parent was being put in an induced coma to "rest their brain". My niece was told on Sunday that they would try for 24 to 48 hours to stop the seizures. Yet no one is allowed to visit my parent in the ICU today and a family discussion is only supposed to happen on Friday. There are a lot of other things that happened before my parent was eventually transferred to the ICU but my question is why no one can visit my parent today when they are dying and why should we wait until they have been seizing for 5 full days before a DNR is discussed. Apologies for the long post but I'm a bit all over the shop at the minute.

OP posts:
FishFingerSandwiches4Tea · 08/11/2022 06:03

I'm sorry OP I don't have anything useful to offer other than bumping your post so that someone more knowledgeable might see it. I'm so sorry for your family, I hope you can visit soon 💐

PinkButtercups · 08/11/2022 06:07

I'm sorry to hear this.

It all seems to wrong.
My Nan was in recently and had a heart attack whilst in there. Not one single person told us. It came from her...

Willbe2under2 · 08/11/2022 08:39

Also no advice OP, but giving you a bump and hoping someone comes along soon Flowers

Hollyhobbi · 08/11/2022 13:29

Thanks guys the family meeting has been brought forward to tomorrow. The seizures have now stopped but my parent is still on a ventilator. They also have a chest infection now which is being treated with antibiotics. They have previous brain damage from mini strokes, are on high dose steroids because they have no pituitary gland, have type 2 diabetes due to the steroids and diabetes insipidus as they can't make vasopressin which controls the production of urine.

OP posts:
RambamThankyouMam · 08/11/2022 13:31

Trigger warning?

Pirrin · 08/11/2022 17:45

Gosh that sounds really hard going. Maybe at the family meeting you can be united front in needing the hospital to change who to call when there is information to relay?

BayCityTrollers · 08/11/2022 18:18

That sounds awful. You certainly should be kept fully informed.

I know from families I’ve worked with as an rmn that getting information from general hospital staff can be hard. My own experience of my husband being admitted was the same too!

If you have concerns about your parents care, it is always worth making a complaint through Pals. It does sound like you have questions you need answers too and you aren’t getting them as yet. It shouldn’t take going through Pals to get information though!

Pirrin · 09/11/2022 16:09

How did the family meeting go?Flowers

Hollyhobbi · 09/11/2022 22:04

The family meeting is tomorrow or Friday now. We're in Ireland so there is a Complaints Officer I will talk to if we aren't given the information. My daughter was allowed in to visit today and she said my parent is all puffy and swollen now, even their face is. So it sounds like they now have heart or kidney failure on top of all the other problems.

OP posts:
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