Relative in ICU with heat stroke and is not going to make it

[SmokeyMountainRain]

Posting for traffic. Has anybody been through this? Close relative, relatively young 50s), was found incoherent last Wednesday. Rushed to hospital straight to ICU as she'd fallen into a coma. They've kept her asleep, tried to wake her twice and she cannot breath on her own whatsoever. They've ran repeated scans which show due to the heat stroke damage the part of her brain that tells her to breath is severely damaged. They've pretty much said she's incompatible with life now and we will have to turn the machines off this week unless by some miracle she wakes up. Her core temp was 41 degrees for 4 days, she's now at 40. Not responded to any medication, antibiotics etc.

She wasn't even doing anything strenuous. Just in her flat watching telly. Has anyone been through this? Does anyone have any advice? I don't even know what to think and feel it just seems so so cruel. No brain bleeds or blockages on the scan. Substantial brain swelling and damage.

posting for traffic as can't see any similar threads

Any advice or miracle stories please send them my way. Thank you x

I'm very very sorry for your relatives situation OP that is a shock that nothing in life prepares you for💐

I can well believe the heat caused it though, as I have hypothyroidism and struggle to regulate my temperature but was clueless about how severe heat stroke could be. I honestly thought it was a trivial thing that you can easily recover from with some fluids and cooling down.

But one day I went out unsuitably prepared for the heat (and the journey I was taking) and I subsequently spent 3 days lying naked on my living room floor (cool tiles), dizzy, confused, retching, with a massive headache and only on day 4 after I finally got up did I call 111 who told me it sounded like I had experienced mild heat stroke. MILD. I felt like my brain had been hit with something heavy.

I was shocked to discover the 'stroke' in heat stroke means the brain is being affected (duh dumb de dum😑) I thought it was just a sort of malaise. But I learned from that horrible experience that it is very dangerous . Once the heat stroke has begun you cannot just get cool again easily and be fine. There's more to it than that.

Your poor relative was probably struggling but didn't really understand what was happening and the seriousness of her symptoms until it was too late. It's possible the act of smoking hid the true extent of her dehydration. In my case I often have a dry mouth due to my condition also, so I didn't notice how dehydrated I had become sick either.

You',ve raised a lot of awareness with this thread.

Our homes are designed to keep heat in. Fine in the colder months as don’t need to have heating on all the time.

You really thought that was appropriate to share, on a post where someone is desperately concerned for their relative in ICU? I’m all for keeping things real and not giving false hope, but sometimes saying nothing at all might be better.

You don't have a 4 day temp of 41 from heat stroke. You don't die of heat stroke of you're 50 and healthy and have access to cool areas you're willing to use. It's important everyone isn't scared out their wits by it. And I'm not being critical of her aunt, I lost my mum in similar circumstances 13 years ago

I’m so sorry. I would have never known heat stroke could be so catastrophic. A lesson for everyone.

ICU is very hard on you when a loved one is there. In my experience the nurses & consultants are truly admirable. What struck me, was the dignity with which they afford the patients as a priority. She’s in the very best hands.

As a point of interest it states on Google 20 per cent die in ICU. By no means all or the majority. Poor misinformation is very unhelpful.

My son was on ECMO in ICU a few years back too and it also helped to save his life but it does come with it's own risk factors and I imagine that they would be too large in this case.

My son had to be removed from ECMO after a week because he was also on heparin at the time to help his blood not clot for the dialysis machine he needed at the time and it caused bleeding in his tummy which then led to a nasty yeast infection in his tummy. It rested his heart and lungs (which he also had an infection in at the time) as needed but from what they told me, it also isn't unusual for ECMO to cause more issues as well and it is always about weighing up if those risks are worth it or not.

Lucky you. Our homes, mostly, are freezing in winter and roasting in summer! I could do without air con in summer however, but couldn't cope with no heating in winter.

I think you’ve said that your relative was in sheltered accommodation in her 50s OP - that’s pretty unusual. What was the reason for this? I’m just wondering if she was more vulnerable in some way.

Really sorry for you all 💐

You are correct, in hindsight when I read that back it was wrong to share.

It was also simply untrue.

I think it is social housing, as in council house.

Actually most British home are designed to neither very well. Modern homes are well insulated but have no heat protection eg external shutters, ventilation, roofs extending over windows which can be a bigger problem.

You seem unwilling to accept what OP is telling us, in favour of repeatedly suggesting the root cause is smoking and the state of her lungs is a contributing factor - even though OP has said that is not the opinion of her consultants. You even suggested that the pneumonia was a factor in the heat stroke, despite OP being clear that the pneumonia developed after she was admitted to hospital as a result of the introduction of the ventilator. OP is in a distressing situation and has posted for support. You are using her thread as a platform for your own purposes.

Please stop. You’re not helping OP.

I. Simply saying if you're 50 and in a hot house and have access to a cool.space you're probably safe. So don't panic. That's all I'm saying.

I agree.

Pneumonia developing after someone is intubated isn't unusual. Lungs get wet due to all the fluids given and obviously someone who is sedated isn't going to be coughing and clearing their chest.

This kind of fatal heat stroke in a healthy 50ish year old must be astonishingly unusual, given she wasn’t out exercising or similar activity. It doesn’t make it any better for the family or ok at all, but I’d think there must be something else going on health wise.

That might well be all you think you're saying.

What you're not saying is that people can or should attribute the cause of this admission and probably mortality to anything other than heat.

Like climate naysayers, gaslighters like you are trying to cast doubt on facts and science. People like you perpetuate a culture of industrial-strength self-delusion about the need for serious, rapid climate action by firing weapons-grade bullshit at everyone else. This is insidious, it is dangerous, and it need to be called out every single time.

It's great you know more than the doctors who are actually treating her and have said otherwise. This thread muse be awful for the OP who has said multiple times what the doctors have said and yet still posters are disagreeing.

Insulation works both ways. You just need to shade when it's hot.

@99bottlesofkombucha How are things today? Hang in there. x

I'm.not

I'm saying illness is heat stroke, I'm also saying comorbidities make heat stroke more likely so the average 50 yr old doesn't need to panic

The heat is wild, it's the elderly. The very young and those with comorbidities it comes for same as viral illnesses.

It should be taken very seriously as should climate change and as an aside so should smoking and COPD which feels like a diagnosis designed to make emphysema less scary.

It's a terrible combination and it was a heat wave when my 56 yr old mum died of pneumonia, a heart defect and COPD. We've always said she'd have lived if the hospital had air con.

Hope that clarifies

OP if all of the close relatives are in agreement then tell the consultants you understand that she could never have a normal life and ask if she is, or should be, on an end of life pathway.

There are, unfortunately, NHS staff who will fight death long after it is in the patients best interests. If the doctors know they are not going to face legal action from relatives that gives them a little more freedom. They can still be reported by other staff though.

I find it absolutely incredible if the Dr's haven't acknowledged the existing COPD and heavy smoking as a contributing factor. There is a well known poorer outcome for people with any respiratory disease in very hot weather, let alone something as serious as COPD.

This poor woman clearly wasn't in good health before she developed heat stroke so let's not pretend she was.

It doesn't mean is isn't a terrible situation for her and her family though.

I am not questioning the heat stroke diagnosis, the brain swells in severe cases and this happens. I’ve read the same thread you have and nowhere do the doctors say it’s not unusual, because it is, and now I’ve read the last few posts by the op there are underlying health issues. It’s relevant as people don’t need to panic about their healthy 53 year old friend/husband/parents, it’s important to look out for vulnerable people in heat waves and you can’t do that effectively if you don’t know who they are. There might be more this summer and it’s useful for people to know. It was 44 this summer where I am on a hit day and we checked on our 80 year old neighbours and not our 60something neighbours who are healthy and would be fine. But the 80 year old shouldn’t be dashing out for anything at the shops in that.

What you're not saying is that people can or should attribute the cause of this admission and probably mortality to anything other than heat.

I am 54 and live in an old SH flat. Last week my flat was unbearably hot as I’m sure a lot of houses were, but being relatively able with no underlying health conditions I was able to cope and even got my water bottle and a towel and sat outside under a tree. This is what some posters are trying to point out, that what sadly has happened to OPs relative isn’t usual in a well person in their 50s.