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This blog was first published at our sister site http://intensivecarehotline.com a support and resource website for Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care
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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM with another weekly update.
In this week’s blog I want to show you “The 3 most dangerous mistakes that you are making but you are unaware of, if your loved one is a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care”. By you making those mistakes and worse, being unaware that you are making them, you’ll have no control, no power and you will be unable to influence any decision making whatsoever, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care! Get this one wrong and you’ll lose control fast, during a time where your critically ill loved one and your Family needs you the most!(it is hard to ask the right questions, without the ‘behind the scenes’ insights)
If your loved one has been admitted to Intensive Care because he or she is critically ill, not only is your critically ill loved one in a danger zone, but you and your Family are most likely in danger zone as well! The bad news is that you don’t know what you don’t know and that you are in danger zone and whilst you and your Family blindly trust in the care that your critically ill loved one is receiving in Intensive Care you are
A) Unaware of the mistakes that you and your Family are making that hold you back from having control, real power and therefore influence decision making
B) Unaware of the moving parts and the politics behind the scene in a busy, highly institutional and highly political area that is Intensive Care. Because Intensive Care is such a highly institutional and highly political place, it directly impacts on the care your critically ill loved one is receiving or not receiving
Look, if your loved one is in Intensive Care, you really must know a few things for your own reality check. It’s easy to lose sight of things and get caught up in the emotion, the overwhelm, the pain, the frustration, the helplessness and the powerlessness that go hand in hand with your critically ill loved one being admitted to Intensive Care!
Furthermore, there are things that most Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care are doing that directly go hand in hand with you having no control, no power and you are therefore unable to influence any decision making and the life and health of your critically ill loved one are completely in the hands of the doctors and nurses in Intensive Care.
Most Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care from all walks of life make the same following three mistakes and they make them over and over again, without doing the crucial “reality check”, whether it is the right thing to do. I have seen this and I still see this over and over again in more than 15 years of Intensive Care nursing that Families
1) Spend day and night in Intensive Care without having a break and they therefore lose power and steam fast
2) They are not asking the right questions and they therefore are also not making up their own mind and trust the Intensive Care team blindly
3) Family members of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care panic
In order for you to regain power, control and also for you being able to influence decision making whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care, you must first of all stop making those mistakes and you must learn to do the right things so that you have control, power, so that you can influence decision making, because otherwise the Intensive Care team will hold all the power in their hand and you will only hear a one sided story and the Intensive Care team will keep you “at arms length”.
Let’s quickly look at the 3 mistakes that you are probably making, how you can become aware that you are making them and what you need to do instead!
1) You are spending day and night in Intensive Care with your critically ill loved one, only to find that you are running out of steam, energy and stamina fast.
Keep in mind that physical presence doesn’t equal emotional presence or if I may say it differently, quantity time, doesn’t equal quality time.
It’s absolutely critical that you look after yourself during this difficult time. You and your needs need to be taken care of first! If you are not looking after yourself, your loved one can feel your negative vibes and if you are taken care of well, your loved one can feel your positive vibes! Intensive Care is a stressful, busy and emotionally draining place and you want to make sure that if you are visiting your critically ill loved one that you are in the best possible state to do so!
Always remember, the Intensive Care Unit is only a phone call away and you can always ring if you are worried!
By you feeling well rested and by you feeling well, you directly increased your chances to have more control, have more power so that you can directly influence decisions, whilst your loved one is in Intensive Care so that you don’t need to feel at the mercy of the Intensive Care team
2) You are not asking the right questions and you are therefore not making up your own mind and you trust the Intensive Care team blindly.
This is another big mistake I see Families in Intensive Care making all the time! As I said before, Intensive Care is a big machinery with a lot of moving parts in a highly institutionalized environment that is highly political and depending on what’s happening behind the scenes so to speak, the Intensive Care team may position your critically ill loved one’s diagnosis in a way that suits the Intensive Care team, but that doesn’t necessarily suit you, your Family and your Critically ill loved one. Let’s just say that your critically ill loved one has a severe head or brain injury and he or she is expected to go through a lengthy stay in ICU to recover and the Intensive Care Unit doesn’t have the resources or doesn’t want to invest the resources to go through a lengthy recovery with an uncertain outcome, they will most likely paint a bleak picture for you and for your family. Outlooks and prognosis can also heavily depend on a positive or a negative culture in an Intensive Care Unit. I have written a blog post about culture in Intensive Care and how it impacts on Patient care here http://intensivecarehotline.com/what-the-doctors-and-the-nurses-behaviour-in-intensive-care-is-telling-you-about-the-culture-in-a-unit/
3) Family members of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care panic
Because Intensive Care is such a frightening and challenging place, most Families of critically ill Patients panic as soon as their loved one has been admitted to Intensive Care. But know this: Try not to panic. I know this is easier said than done, however like in many other situations of crisis that you have been thrown into, panicking only makes the situation worse. Have trust and confidence in yourself and you’ll get through this difficult situation just fine and as a by-product you will have control, power and influence!
But if you continue to make those three most common mistakes whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care, you are handing over your power on a platter!
Also for more in depth insight on this topic, we have a tailor made report for you ”Follow this proven system to avoid the 3 most dangerous mistakes that you are making but you are unaware of, if your loved one is a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care”
Avoid these mistakes and you can exercise more control, more power and gain influence fast, in an environment where other people are in control.
If you are interested in this FREE report just email me at [email protected] and we’ll email you the FREE report in a PDF format!
This free report gives you a summary and ‘take away’ action steps that’ll show you how to stay in control of the situation and gain influence fast!
The FREE report also gives you real world examples, where you can learn and apply those examples to your own situation and you’ll find that you’ll be in control fast!
If you want to have even more power and if you want to influence decision making fast you can do so by discovering
more FREE information and more in-depth insight that you must know whilst your loved one is critically ill or is dying in Intensive Care, sign up for your FREE membership and get your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT. In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care!
In this free report you’ll also discover
• how to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions
• how to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying
• 5 “killer” tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to control, power and influence in your situation
• you’ll get crucial ‘behind the scenes’ insight so that you understand what is really happening in Intensive Care
• how you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care(it’s not what you think)
With your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report you’ll also get 4 other FREE reports and the reports you will be receiving are
- The 6 questions you need to ask the most senior doctor in Intensive Care
- 10 things you didn’t know doctors and nurses are talking about while you are not at the bedside with your loved one
- the 7 answers to the 7 most FAQ if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care
- 9 myths of being a critically ill Patient in Intensive Care
Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog and I’ll see you again in another update next week! Make sure you also check out our “your questions answered” section or send me an email to [email protected]
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update!
For more information and to get FREE resources if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care, visit www.intensivecarehotline.com
Sincerely,
your Friend
Patrik Hutzel