“People are scared, and they don’t know what to expect,” says Janna Di Pinto, a social worker who sees patients and families in the Tory Trauma Program at Sunnybrook.

Here are five tips for supporting a loved one through an unexpected stay in the critical care unit:

1. Education is key

Patients in the critical care unit often end up there suddenly, leaving families little time to make sense of what’s happening.

“As social workers, part of our role is to provide education on what to expect during a critical care stay. Patients can be doing well one day, and not so well the next, and it’s important for family members to know that such changes in their loved one’s condition are common,” says Di Pinto.

Staff members talk to family members about some of the expected responses and feelings they may have in this crisis event, such as:

• Feeling scattered and unable to think straight
• Processing information poorly
• Decreased short-term memory
• Decreased sense of hunger or thirst

Other helpful educational resources are available online on Sunnybrook’s Navigating the ICU website, which was developed after extensive collaboration between staff and family members.

2. Establish defined roles

In the critical care unit, families can spend a lot of time sitting at the patient’s bedside, but they aren’t sure how they can help.

Family members can contribute to their loved one’s recovery by making a playlist of the patient’s favourite songs to play at the bedside, holding the patient’s hand, bringing in photos and ensuring staff are aware of what is important to the patient.

At Sunnybrook, family members are also encouraged to participate in the care team’s daily rounds at the bedside.

“Staff can teach family members how to participate in their loved one’s care, such as encouraging range of motion exercises or redirecting a patient from pulling tubes and lines,” says Di Pinto.

3. Give yourself permission to take care of yourself

 Di Pinto says it’s important for family members to give themselves permission to take care of their own wellbeing, too.

“We don’t expect them to be at a patient’s bedside 24/7. It’s okay for them to go home, rest and then call the unit as often as they like to check in,” says Di Pinto.

Coordinating a rotating visiting schedule with others can be helpful, because it allows everyone a chance to be at the hospital while also building in time to look after themselves.

“People have many demands to juggle – maybe they live far away from the hospital, or have to return to work, or need to sort out child care. This is a time to establish a new balance and figure out new roles for themselves,” she says.

 4. Find coping strategies that work for you

Some people have a lot of anger after their loved one ends up in critical care, says Di Pinto, particularly if the admission was the result of a trauma (like a car crash) caused by someone else.

“We help family talk about which coping strategies may work best for them. For example, we let people know where the quiet spaces are around the hospital, such as the chapel or going for a walk outside. We let them know it’s okay to go to the gym, spend time with friends or pets, or even just go outside and scream if they need to,” she says.

5. It’s okay to have hope 

Di Pinto says they often talk with family members about the road to recovery, and how it is a process that takes time.

“When your loved one is in critical care, there may be a fine line between being hopeful and being realistic, but it’s okay to have hope that your family member will recover.”

The post 5 tips for getting through a loved one’s stay in the critical care unit appeared first on Your Health Matters.

The next time his family saw him, he was in the critical care unit at Sunnybrook.

“They told us that Jonathon had suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident. The injury was severe, and it was unlikely that he would recover,” says his mother, Heather.

That’s when an organ and tissue donation coordinator from the Trillium Gift of Life Network approached the Talbot family, asking if Jonathon had signed his donor card. His sister Emily said that he had, and that they had discussed the possibility of organ donation together.

“My first instinct was to say no,” says Heather. “My children and I are Jewish, and I wasn’t sure it would be possible to do this in a way that honoured our faith.”

However, after consulting with a rabbi and learning that organ donation was allowed because it would save someone else’s life, Heather felt confident that donating Jonathon’s organs and tissues was the right decision.

“It was my way to honour Jonathon’s memory. His organs helped four other people live,” says Heather.

In the decade since Jonathon’s passing, Heather and her husband Terry have become active in the organ donation community, participating in causes like the Canadian Transplant Games and hosting an annual table tennis fundraising tournament.

Heather has also spoken at synagogues and the National Council of Jewish Women, spreading the word that organ donation is an option for members of her faith. Now volunteering as a patient partner at Sunnybrook, her latest project is creating a memorial garden at the hospital dedicated to organ donors, which is set to come to reality this spring.

“If we hadn’t consented to donating, we would have missed this gift Jonathon gave us – a life enriched with purpose. Being a part of the organ donation community has also helped with grief,” says Heather.

Heather says she also took comfort in receiving cards and letters from some of the people who received Jonathon’s organs.

“One gentleman wrote that because of the organ he received, he lived to meet first grandchild. It means Jonathon didn’t die in vain.”

April is BeADonor Month. To register as an organ and tissue donor, visit https://beadonor.ca/sunnybrook.

The post ‘His organs helped four other people live’: Mom discusses her choice to donate son Jonathon’s organs appeared first on Your Health Matters.