when to remove ventilator... cardiac arrest survivor
hello my name is kevin.It is a miracle my mother has made it to this point.Last wed night my mother and father and i were at caesers casino in atlantic city.I hit for $1300....we were all celebrating....my mother went into cardiac arrest....if this happened anywhere other then at the casino she would have been dead on arrival...many people go into cardiac arrest at the casinos so the staff is trained in cpr and revived her....her second break was that a major cardiac hospital is just 10 minutes outside of atlantic city....they did hypothermia treatment which was a success...the last couple days she has been awake and nodding,smiling,waving but is still on a ventilator...she is respirating on her own at 22 while the ventilator is pumping 12 breaths a minute....her heart is beating on its own....i don' understand why they will not remove the ventilator....she wants it out....keeps trying to talk...when can i expect them to let her try to breathe on her own?
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
on friday the story was it was coming out on saturday....on saturday itwas coming out on sunday....sunday they said today....today it is still in and now they are saying it is helping her rest.....i don't understand if she is respirating at twice the rate of the ventilator they are not trying to wean her off of it
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
Hi Kevin,
I just went through this with my own mother who had fallen and dislodged her vertebra into her spine, calling for surgery to fuse the vertebra back together. The surgery caused immense swelling in her neck, calling for a ventilator to help her breathe. Eventually the ventilator was removed, but within a short time it had to be re-inserted. Again, it was removed. When the third time came that she needed the ventilator again, we were advised that the third time would likely be forever, as this procedure can only be done twice.
My advice to you would to be patient and allow your mother to recover to the point where you are sure she can handle breathing on her own to the doctors best knowledge and experience. I am not saying my mothers vent was removed too early by any means, but do not try and hurry to remove this life saving machine from of her use.
For my mother, she did not want her life to be sustained through artificial measures, so we declined the third intubation, and she passed peacefully last Tuesday. We are sure we did the right thing for her, but of course are devastated by her loss.
It sounds as if your dear mother has an angel on her shoulder to have gotten her through this, and I wish you and your family all the love and strength you need at this difficult time.
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
It is difficult to be in that situation, no matter how long one is it. Like it has been said, they will get her off when they see she can be off. They have to test her every so often to see if she can be off, when she has trouble, they put her back on it. It is a trying time and it is hard to be patient and watch this happen. But pray a lot and be patient. And we will wait it out with you. Hugs for today.
__________________
Rosier
Never give up.
The Following User Says Thank You to rosier For This Useful Post: phillykevin (10-05-2011)
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
My mother has beaten 100 to 1 odds just to make it to a 50-50 chance...as they were preparing to remove the ventilaror a bad x ray came back to her lungs suggesting fluid build up....they are going to insert a pump to assist her heart to improve her chances to survive major heart surgery...they determined the fluid was causeed by a bad valve....she now has to survive major heart surgery in a weakened condition...thank you for your prayers and informative responses....this is a very stressful time...my mother is 75 and has never spent a day of her life in the hosppital....her first health problem was cardiac arrest.....all i can do now is pray for her and the strength to accept Gods will.
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
My mother was removed from her heart pump on saturday after survivng triple bypass and a valve job that the doctors said she was to potentially to weak to survive.....they took her off of the ventilator two days ago and she is breathing on her own....her gases are normal(oxygen and carbon dioxide)....she is very weak and is a bit out of it...she can not lift her head and can barely lift her arms...the doctor told me that if you told me she would have progressed to this point in 13 days after a cardiac arrest and all of the surgery dangers i would have told you it was impossible....she is so weak and labors so to speak it is painful to see her in this condition....she just keeps asking us to take her home and begs us not to leave her at the end of the day....we are with her from 8 am until 10 pm at night....it is heartbreaking to leave her there...she begged me to "give her a lift home"...when we got home tonight the nurses called and said she wanted to speak to us...she was crying on the phone saying please don't leave me alone here come back and take me home....i don't understand the nurses logic in allowing her to call us....i asked the nurse to try and make her understand she will come home when she is strong enough....im learning some nurses and doctors are angels and some are just for lack of a better terms "stupid apathetic creeps"...now i can't sleep picturing mom in that room crying out over and over again "I want to go home" with these apathetic nurses giving her no comfort...all i can do is pray.
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
Hi Kevin..........
First I hope and pray your mom is doing better and gaining ground daily. She has made a major comeback which in itself is a miracle. As a nurse I doubt that the nurses are trying to be apathetic but rather help your mom by attempting to calm her down by having her call. I can well imagine that your mom is scared especially to have cardiac arrest her only medical issue until then. That is scarey for anyone at any age and I can well imagine that she keeps replaying what happened to her, that which she remembers, Being in an unfamiliar environment and just facing open heart surgery. My recommendation would be to take a deep breath, thank god and provide your mom with all the security, comfort and understanding that you can muster. You wrote that you were there from 8am until around 10p. Anyway you and your dad can change your visiting times so that someone is always with her? That might help her get more rest, comfort and decrease her stress about wanting to get home. Most hospitals wil agree to a family member staying if it will help the person heal. If you can't stay then constantly reassure her while she is there and give her a means to be able to call you and let her know you will be there for her but she needs to be in the hospital or wherever until she is stable enough to go home.
My thoughts and prays are with your mom and your family. God Bless
The Following User Says Thank You to seascanmper For This Useful Post: phillykevin (10-06-2011)
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
My mother is sitting up today in a chair and is talking....she is still a bit out of it....the nurses and doctors are saying it is normal for her to be in a bit of a stupor for a few days.....the doctors are saying she is past the critical point and is in the recovery phase....they are saying it is a legitimate miracle she is alive and progressing at the rate she has....everything had to happen when it happened...where it happened and for trained staff with cpr experience to be present for her just to have made it to the hospital alive....the other part of the miracle was that a major cardiac hospital was just 10 minutes from the casino and a hospital was right next to the casino so that paramedics were there in less then 10 minutes...she survived the cardiac arrest....triple bypass and a valve repair in an extremely weakened state and is neurologically intact....its just to good to be true....hard to believed and oberwhelmed with joy.......i have witnessed a number of miracles in my life that prove to me God exists but this unbelievable combination of synchronicity(which i call Gods thumbprint) is so hard to believe that even though i witnessed it firsthand i am still in shock over the amazing things that can happen when Gods will is involved.
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
If doctor tells the patient has cardiac arrest after putting up for 3 days on ventilator and we have reversed the arrest by giving shock and still the patient has been put on ventilator with full support and high dosage of drugs. And if there is movement in the eye balls and eye lashes are up and down , what does it mean?
Re: when to remove ventilator..cardiac arrest survivor
To PhillyKevin,
Congrats on your mother's hanging in there. It is tough when one is older, to have gone through what she has been lately. Sounds like she is on the good road of recovery. For Peter, it is done when one is not able to breathe on their own, even with the heart beating. It is a way to make it easy on the body to breathe for the patient being on a ventalator. Just be patient. Hugs for everyone today.
