Had a 86 year old post arrest. Flat and not particularly healthy. Shocked a couple of times by the paramedics and once by myself. A rather pro-active medical registrar suggested thrombylisis which was duly given, however the proglonged event lead to a termination of actively treating her.
Then the problems arose. The first two members of the family refused to believe she was going to die, and would not allow extubation til their sister arrived. Fine we said expecting them to be local. But hey no, they were coming from Wales. Didn't they know about breaches. Needless to say I had to try and keep this lady alive til these family members arrived. Cue ventilator and a bit of luck.
The family eventually arrived, and were with Mum. I extubated and 5 minutes later she died, with her family present. It gave the family some comfort.
As I was leaving one of the daughters came up to me and said that they wanted to take mum 'home with them'. Small problem she was dead.
Unfortunately not I said, as she was now the property of the coroner and it would be theft, also unethical and unhygenic. The transportation issue would have been fun too. A longboard and roof rack were mentioned.
Relatives are bizarre.
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