My dad has been taken to the hospital

[Natsku]

Don't know for sure if its corona but I expect he will be tested now but I'm very worried, he has heart health problems so isn't healthy to begin with but now his oxygen sat levels are low so they've taken him in.

Just need a hand hold I suppose. I have to find the positives here, at least its before the peak so there are beds.

Understood. Still, sounds more reassuring than it did at first

I think tracheostomies have very scary connotations because people tend to see them on TV dramas as an emergency thing when someone can't breathe. This is a planned, calm process.

Thank you so much for explaining

Praying your dad a swift recovery op 💐

Reallbadidea gives a great explanation. When my mum was on iTu with sepsis. This was the procedure they followed. Trachy first before removing ventilation. Thinking of you and you’re dad and cheering him on.

This is becoming more common, according to dd. It's sort of a half way house, and means the patient can be helped as much with their breathing but doesn't have to be as sedated, so coming off the tracheotomy can be done slowly.

Where DD is the ITU is gradually moving more and more patients to tracheotomies so that they don't have to be on full intubation for so long. It appears to be a positive move specifically for Covid patients.

How old is your Dad Natsku?

He's heading in the right direction Natsku.
When I worked in ITU (admittedly a long time ago) just about everyone who was ventilated for more than a few days was given a tracheotomy, for the reasons so well explained by Reallybadidea

He's 65 next month (I think! Maybe he turns 66 actually, not sure)

Feel so much better about it now, I'll explain it to my mum so she doesn't feel so worried either.

I haven’t posted until now but have been checking every day to see how your dad is getting on.

Just wanted to reassure you my son has a tracheostomy as they couldn’t extubate him (very prem). He is now weaning off of his ventilator and will be getting rid of the tracheostomy in the next couple of years.

I know it seems scary but it means that your dad won’t have to be sedated to he ventilated anymore. They will also be able to take the vent off for short periods and build it up with no problems rather than having to go through the process of repeated intubation. When he doesn’t need ventilation or the tube anymore they can take it out and it will heal up.

I know it seems very scary but it will be good for him to not be under sedation and will help him to get the support he needs.

I hope he continues to improve

Also just to say my LO will only need the tube for years because his lungs needed a long time to develop. It is usually shorter term!

Thanks SCFA, hope your son is doing ok

How is your dad doing OP?

Blood pressure is up a bit so needing meds for that but otherwise the same. Haven't decided when to do the trach yet, maybe Sunday.

How long is he in ICU now?

Three weeks now

What's the news today Natsku? Have you had an update?

Haven't heard yet today

If it helps to reassure you, I have a family member who has just been discharged from ICU with Covid. She was in intensive care for a total of 22 days, she was on a ventilator from days 1-20 and a tracheotomy was performed on day 13. She is now on a general ward and doing well. Best of luck x

That's good to hear majoriesdoor glad your relative is doing well now

They've taken him off the ventilator!!
Of course there's a chance he'll have to go back on, and he's on a CPAP machine now, but he managed to talk briefly so that's really positive. They are saying if he copes OK for the next 24 hours they will try to set up a video call to my mum so she can speak to him.

Wonderful news @Natsku !

Fantastic news @Natsku

Brilliant news x

That's really great news x