8:43 pm
EMS teams deliver the patient, a 48-year old female, to an Indiana hospital E.R. About four hours earlier, the patient complained of rapid onset of severe headache with no response to over-the-counter pain medication. Patient collapsed while preparing for bed.
9:11pm
Hospital Trauma Specialists stabilize patient and get diagnostic scans: CT/MRI of the patient’s head. Patient is placed on a ventilator to assist with breathing. The care teams consult with the family to assure them that everything possible is being done. However, they will have to wait while the patient sta-bilizes and the physicians and nurses decide what the best options are for her care.
11:57pm
Patient is still unresponsive with a deteriorating neurological condition. Vital signs are stable but the diagnostic scans show a severe hemorrhage (bleed) to one of the major blood vessels supplying oxygenated blood to her brain. The brain has begun to swell causing more blood flow restrictions. Physicians order medications to help further stabilize the patient's blood pressure and other vital signs.
12:18am
The patient is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. The healthcare teams closely monitor the patient’s respirations and heart function and begin adjusting a care plan. Vital signs are taken every 15 minutes for the first two hours and blood is drawn every hour to check for infections, liver and kidney function and vital blood gases. The primary physician orders an EEG to help evaluate brain activity. Medications are given to help with blood pressure and reduce swelling in the brain. Her family waits for any change. A hospital chaplain offers to help the family.
2:47am
Vital signs are changing rapidly now. Blood pressure has climbed to 285/120 and the heart rate is in the 130s, a sign the patient’s brain is swelling even more. Her physician orders a Cerebral Blood Flow study to determine if any blood is reaching the brain. The doctor also performs additional tests to help with his diagnosis. The unit supervisor places a call to IOPO for a medical evaluation of this patient. An IOPO coordinator reviews the patient’s history and determines that the patient is medically suitable for donation if circumstances change for the worse.
