My mom has been on a ventilator since 12/31....a month and a half. This all started because she has a mechanical mitral valve and takes coumadin to thin her blood. She had to have a colonoscopy so she was taken off the coumadin for the test. AFterwards, she was put on heparin and her blood got too thin too fast and she had a brain bleed. She had surgery on 12/31 to remove the clot that formed and has been on the vent since. She has come a long way....there is no paralysis and seems to be no brain damage. She is alert and responsive. She just can't get off the vent. Next week the long term acute care hospital is sending her to a rehab center that accepts vent patients because medicare wont allow her to stay at the hospital any longer. This rehab center just opened 7 months ago and no one knows much about it. They say their goal is to wean people from vents, but is that really possible? How much weaning will they really do in one of these places? Any advice is appreciated.
