Mr. Alain A. benefited from the support of his family thanks to the telephone and later the video with a tablet.

Il signor Alain A. ha beneficiato del sostegno della sua famiglia grazie al telefono e in seguito alle videochiamate con il tablet.

I : A livello emotivo, come andava? Sua moglie la chiamava?
E : Sì.
I : Veniva a trovarla? Come andava?
E : Allora, all'inizio, quando ero ancora a (luogo 1), era un po'... sì, mi telefonava spesso, non c'erano problemi, facevamo delle belle telefonate. Poi anche con le mie figlie. E dopo, quando ero in clinica, ho potuto avere un tablet e facevamo... beh, come noi adesso, se vuole.
I : Skype o cosa? //
E : Facetime, si chiama così, e ho potuto vedere tutti e questo mi ha aiutato molto anche a raccontare e a esprimere i miei sentimenti. E poi poter vedere mia moglie, le mie figlie e soprattutto i miei nipotini. Quindi, stare sei settimane senza vederli mi dava fastidio.
I : Quindi sua moglie e le sue figlie, mi ha detto che quando era in coma farmacologico, le parlavano //
E : Sì.
I : Lei non se lo ricorda. Ma vedevano che muoveva le mani e così via. Quindi hanno potuto farle visita mentre era //
E : No, no, affatto, erano le infermiere che comunicavano con mia moglie e le mie figlie. Che ah! Là reagisce, là (-) il suo cuore si calma //
I : Ah, quando le parlavano al telefono.
E : Esatto, erano le infermiere che comunicavano con mia moglie e le mie figlie.

Telefono e video

M. Alain A. a bénéficié du soutien de sa famille grâce au téléphone et plus tard à la vidéo avec une tablette.

I : Au niveau des émotions, comment ça se passait? Votre femme vous téléphonait?
E : Oui.
I : Venait vous voir? Comment ça se passait?
E : Alors après / bon au début quand j'étais encore à (lieu 1) c'était un petit peu / oui elle m'a beaucoup téléphoné, il n'y a pas de soucis, on avait de bons petits coups de téléphone. Avec mes filles par la suite. Et après quand j'étais à la clinique, là j'ai pu avoir une tablette et puis on faisait des (-) bah comme nous maintenant si vous voulez.
I : Des Skype ou des? //
E : Des facetime, voilà comme ça s'appelle et j'ai pu avoir tout le monde et puis ça m'a beaucoup aidé à pouvoir aussi raconter et puis ce que je (-) mon ressenti. Et puis à pouvoir voir ma femme, mes filles et mes petits-enfants surtout. Donc pendant six semaines sans les voir, ça m'embêtait.
I : Donc votre femme, et vos enfants vous m'avez dit que quand vous étiez dans le coma artificiel, elles vous parlaient // 
E : Oui.
I : Vous vous en souvenez pas. Mais elles voyaient que vous bougiez des mains etcétéra. Donc, elles ont pu vous rendre visite pendant que vous étiez //
E : Non, non pas du tout c'est les infirmières qui transmettaient à ma femme et à mes filles. Que ah! Là il réagit, là (-) son cœur s'apaise //
I : Ah c'est quand elles vous parlaient par téléphone.
E : Voilà, c'étaient les infirmières qui transmettaient à mon épouse et à mes filles.

Téléphone et vidéo

Herr Alain A. konnte dank des Telefons und später des Videos mit einem Tablet von der Unterstützung seiner Familie profitieren.

I : Wie war es auf der emotionalen Ebene? Hat Ihre Frau Sie angerufen?
E : Ja.
I : Hat sie Sie besucht? Wie war das bei Ihnen?
E : Also nach / gut am Anfang, als ich noch in (Ort 1) war, war es ein bisschen / ja sie hat viel mit mir telefoniert, da gibt es keine Sorgen, wir hatten gute kleine Telefonate. Mit meinen Töchtern später. Und dann, als ich in der Klinik war, da habe ich ein Tablet bekommen und dann haben wir (-) bah wie wir jetzt, wenn Sie wollen.
I : Skype oder?//
E : Facetime, so nennt man das und ich konnte alle haben und das hat mir sehr geholfen, dass ich auch erzählen konnte und was ich (-) empfunden habe. Und dann konnte ich meine Frau, meine Töchter und meine Enkelkinder sehen. Also sechs Wochen ohne sie zu sehen, das hat mich schon gestört.
I : Also Ihre Frau und Ihre Kinder, Sie haben mir erzählt, dass sie mit Ihnen gesprochen haben, als Sie im künstlichen Koma lagen //.
E : Ja.
I : Daran können Sie sich nicht erinnern. Aber sie konnten sehen, dass Sie sich mit den Händen bewegten und so weiter. Also konnten sie Sie besuchen, während Sie im Krankenhaus waren //.
E : Nein, nein, das haben die Krankenschwestern meiner Frau und meinen Töchtern erzählt. Dass ah! Da reagiert er, da (-) beruhigt sich sein Herz //
I : Das war, wenn sie mit Ihnen telefoniert haben.
E : Ja, das waren die Krankenschwestern, die meiner Frau und meinen Töchtern Bescheid gesagt haben.

Telefon und Video

Corine

I : How did things go emotionally? Did your wife phone you?
E : Yes.
I : Come to see you? How did that go?
E : Afterwards / well at the beginning when I was still at (location 1) it was a bit / yes she phoned me a lot, there's no problem, we had good little phone calls. And then with my daughters. And then when I was at the clinic, I was able to get a tablet and then we could (-) bah like we do now if you like.
I : Skype or? //.
E : Facetime, that's what it's called, and I was able to get in touch with everyone and it helped me a lot to be able to talk about what I was (-) feeling. And then to be able to see my wife, my daughters and my grandchildren above all. So for six weeks without seeing them, it bothered me.
I : So your wife and children told me that when you were in an induced coma, they spoke to you //?
E : Yes.
I : You don't remember. But they could see that your hands were moving and so on. So they were able to visit you while you were //.
E : No, not at all, it was the nurses who passed on the information to my wife and daughters. That ah! Now he's reacting, now (-) his heart's calming // He's saying, "No, no, not at all.
I : Oh, that's when they spoke to you on the phone.
E : Well, it was the nurses who told my wife and daughters.

Phone and Video

Most patients can't speak and have to communicate with their hands, lips or by writing on tablets. They can often hear, however, which can lead to frustration at not being understood. They talk about the need of different means for being understood by the team , for communicating with their families and receiving the moral support they need. Their experiences show the importance of knowing the right tools and ways to communicate with the patient.

Means of communication

Today's medical and technological advances allow patients to survive serious and life-threatening illnesses. Experiencing such a serious illness that requires intensive care treatment can have a profound impact on one's life.

In this section, you can learn how other people experienced their time in an intensive care unit. In short video or text excerpts, patients and their families share their experiences with a serious, often life-threatening illness and treatment in an intensive care unit. You can also learn about the changes those affected deal with after their time in the intensive care unit.

Grazie alle possibilità mediche e tecniche offerte dalla terapia intensiva, oggi un paziente può sopravvivere a malattie gravi che in passato erano mortali. L’esperienza di queste gravi condizioni di salute e l’esperienza della terapia intensiva possono cambiare la vita in modo radicale, sia ai pazienti che ai loro cari.

In questa sezione potete capire come altri pazienti hanno vissuto il loro periodo in un reparto di terapia intensiva. In brevi video o estratti di testo, i pazienti raccontano la loro permanenza in questo reparto, il modo in cui hanno gestito questo periodo della loro vita, e come questa esperienza li ha cambiati.

Esperienze in terapia intensiva

Les possibilités médicales et techniques permettent de plus en plus souvent aux patients de survivre à des maladies graves et autrefois mortelles. L’expérience par les patients de ces maladies graves et de leur prise en charge médicale en soins intensifs peuvent changer la vie d’une manière très mémorable.

Dans cette section, vous découvrirez comment d’autres personnes ont vécu leur séjour dans une unité de soins intensifs. Dans de courts extraits vidéo ou textuels, les patients rendent compte de leur séjour à l’unité de soins intensifs. Ils témoignent également des changements qui peuvent se produire dans la vie d’une personne après les soins intensifs.

Expérience en médecine de soins intensifs

Die heutigen medizinischen und technischen Möglichkeiten lassen Patient*innen schwere und lebensbedrohliche Erkrankungen überstehen. Die Erfahrung einer so schweren Erkrankung, die eine intensivmedizinischen Behandlung benötigt, kann das Leben sehr einprägsam verändern.

Wie andere Menschen die Zeit auf einer Intensivstation erlebt haben, können Sie in dieser Sektion erfahren. In kurzen Video- oder Textausschnitten berichten Patient*innen und Angehörige,  über die Erfahrungen einer schweren oft lebensbedrohlichen Erkrankung und einer Behandlung auf einer Intensivstation. Ebenso können Sie erfahren, mit welchen Veränderungen die Betroffenen sich nach der Zeit auf der Intensivstation auseinandersetzen.

Erfahrungen Intensivmedizin

Experiences in Intensive Care

Susanne

For Mr Alain A., the dreams were pleasant. He was floating along on a cloud.

It was then I think when I woke up from the induced coma. I think it was there because I can't think of any other explanation. And I was, yeah really good. It was a big, big white cloud. Pretty thick and I was sitting on it and I was really great. Afterwards, so if you want afterwards I did - so I don't know if it's in the coma, but I think it's more afterwards - I had dreams that were not possible where with my family, some of the times, and some of the times all of it, I was in New York, I was in San Francisco, I was in Marseille, I was in Paris, I was in London, I was all over the world, but in my bed.

Mr. Alain A saw himself floating on a cloud.

Many patients report experiences that can be associated with hallucinations and confusion. These  memories are often present for months after hospitalization.

Delusion/hallucination/ dreams/anxiety.

Mr. Alain A, during his 10 days in an induced coma, remembers that he could hear the doctors and nurses but could not talk to them.

So it happened at the beginning of March, I would say, where I started to have a little bit of, quite a bit of coughing; every time I spoke, it was accompanied by coughing problems. And on the evening of March 19th, an ambulance came to pick me up after my wife called the health care to say that I had to be hospitalized. And there, it's a period, from the 19th in the evening, until, I don't know, I'm going to say roughly, until the 30th, yes until the beginning of April, I tell myself. It's a period that I have a hard time remembering because I don't remember the transport from my home to the hospital. After that, I was immediately intubated and put in an induced coma for about ten days. During that time, I could hear people talking to me; the nurses and doctors, I could hear them well but I couldn't make any sound, obviously. Then, later on in my coma, and this is because I was told, my wife, my daughters talked to me a little bit and it seems that I had reactions with my hands.  And my heart was calming down if you will, they told me that it was calming down when I heard the voices of my wife and daughters. And then from that, I have a vague memory of being in a coma where I felt like I was, I've told other media outlets that have interviewed me, I felt like I was on a white cloud and I was very, very, very good.

Mr. Alain A. was put into an artificial coma as an emergency.

Many patients in the ICU experience the state of coma or sedation. Coma can be caused by changes in metabolism, the severe illness, or sedating and pain-relieving medications. Thus, patients often experience their time in the ICU in a fragmented way and forget much of the experience.

Coma/Sedation

Walking has enabled Mr. Alan A. to regain a degree of independence.ès.

So rehabilitation consisted of physical exercises at the foot of the bed, if I may say so, etc., etc. I was still on oxygen, which they gradually reduced until one day they took it away completely, because my lung capacity wasn't too bad, I'd say. It wasn't great, but it didn't need oxygen anymore.  And after those fifteen days in that room, I went down one floor to another room with another person, and that's where we were, in a way, “plague victims.” if I dare say so, and there I was able to go outside where the clinic has a beautiful park with a magnificent forest, and there I had a blast running around like a kid, if I may say so. Because after six weeks, five weeks indoors, I'm not used to walking very much, I would say. It felt good to get some fresh air. And I felt really good.
I went for a walk every day. At first, I walked for half an hour, then I was able to walk a little longer. And a month later, maybe even a little less, three weeks later, we went to the Jura mountains and I was able to go for a walk for about three hours.

Walking.

Leaving intensive care is not the end of the story. Patients talk about the importance of exercise, walking and rehabilitation to return to a (near) normal life.

Alain A.

Phone and Video

Related experiences

Other experiences by Alain A.

Alain A.