Mr. George G. has learnt a lesson for life.

Il signor George G. ha imparato una lezione di vita.

E : Sempre la stessa, un'esperienza bellissima. Che non auguro a nessuno perché non ho alcuna voglia di avere un altro incidente per vivere un'esperienza del genere, proprio nessuna. Ma d'altra parte, forse legato alla mia storia, ho scoperto un mondo che non immaginavo, ecco, probabilmente è anche questo contrasto che in qualche modo ha impattato.

Una lezione di vita

E : Toujours le même, une très belle expérience. Que je souhaite à personne parce que je / et j’ai pas du tout envie de reprendre un accident pour avoir ce genre d’expérience, pas du tout. Mais par contre ouais, peut-être lié à mon histoire, j’ai découvert un monde que je ne soupçonnais pas, quoi, voilà c’est probablement, il y a aussi ce contraste qui a dû quelque part compter.

Une leçon de vie

Herr George G. hat eine Lektion fürs Leben gelernt.

E : Immer noch genauso, eine sehr schöne Erfahrung. Die ich niemandem wünsche, weil ich / und ich überhaupt keine Lust habe, einen Unfall zu haben, um diese Art von Erfahrung zu machen, überhaupt nicht. Aber andererseits, ja, vielleicht hängt es mit meiner Geschichte zusammen, habe ich eine Welt entdeckt, von der ich nichts ahnte, was, ja, das ist wahrscheinlich, es gibt auch diesen Kontrast, der irgendwo eine Rolle gespielt haben muss.

Eine Lektion für das Leben

Corine

E : Always the same, a very beautiful experience. I wouldn't wish it on anyone because I don't want to have another accident to have that kind of experience, not at all. But on the other hand, maybe because of my history, I discovered a world I never knew existed. That's probably it. There's also the contrast, which must have played a part somewhere.

A lesson for life

So in order to move on with your life, you need to process and categorise what you have experienced. This is a long process and being discharged from intensive care can be a very stressful time for patients.

Learning from the experience of the intensive care unit (ICU)

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

Mr Georges G. has very positive memories of the ICU: a wonderful welcome, a very professional clinical team.

Yes, so I have memories; I have a lot of positive memories. So I remember the welcome, the attention that was given to me, the desire to be clear in the messages that were transmitted, whether by the doctors, or by the nursing staff, so nurses and other specifications. A really wonderful welcome. And I have to say, well I don't know if I can tell you this like this, but it's a perfect contrast to what I experienced when I was three years old. I had a tonsil operation in the hospital, it was the last time I was in the hospital and it went really, really badly. And for me the hospital is hell. So maybe in contrast, the experience I had, which was maybe ordinary, I don't know, was wonderful. So I was taken care of in a very professional way, assured, reassured and I trusted them and it went very well.

Mr. Georges G. praises the professionalism of the clinical team.

The intensive care unit is bustling with activity. Clinical teams are busy with intensive patient care and emergencies. The environment is dominated by machines and modern technology that enable survival in critical illness.  In addition, there are team conversations and sounds from neighboring patients. This leads to noise, light, which can be disturbing for the patients.

Perception of the environment of the intensive care unit

Mr. George G. is confused because he woke up in a different place and can't remember how he got there.

No, if I stay with the first experience in intensive care, I would say no. And what comes to mind is maybe the second experience in the ICU, well when I was operated on with narcosis. I remember when I went from the bed to the operating table, because I gave a hand to move me on the operating table. And then I remember afterwards waking up somewhere else, in a bed somewhere else, and I remember not giving a hand to move from the operating table to the bed. And I was told if, if you helped. And that challenged me because I said to myself I did things that I don't remember. I may have collaborated, but I don't remember, something happened during a time when I wasn't there. 
So now, all of a sudden it's maybe, it's an awkward feeling. It's awkward. It's awkward because you think, "Oh my, things happened while I was not conscious. I even participated and I don't remember anything." And that's an unpleasant feeling. But for a good cause, in a good case, in a good context, it can pass, but I have to admit, this is a flash that came back to me when you asked me the question.

Mr. Georges G.is troubled by the absence of certain memories.

There is no typical way to wake up in an ICU after coma or sedation. In fact, patients are usually confused, have lost track of time and do not immediately know where they are.  Their unfamiliar surroundings take them by surprise and are sometimes unpleasant: In some cases, patients cannot speak, are thirsty and feel helpless.

Waking up in the ICU.

The family visits were very helpful to Mr Georges G.

E : Yes, so for that, they brought me a small bowl, towels, a little soap and then I cleaned myself. There was a nurse's assistant who came to clean my back a little and then my feet because we couldn't reach the feet, but we managed quite well. But that happened later, practically after two days. Practically, not immediately. When I had to remain motionless, it didn't work like that, no. I think it was afterwards. I also think that I stayed in intensive care maybe a little longer than I could have stayed because I was still in a relatively good condition. But you see, I don't think it was worth putting me in a room before I went home or somewhere else. So the first experience in intensive care was that I was in the emergency room, in intensive care and then I left intensive care to go home, so it's a bit,  well, it's not the usual route, I think. What else can I tell you? No, after that I have relatives who come, my children who come, my wife, etc., my friends, my brother, so it brightens up the day a little.  As in intensive care, we don't get too many visitors, it's nice to be able to have people visit whenever possible, which means pretty much any time. 
I : Pretty much all the time?
E : Pretty much all the time. My wife stayed with me in the evening for quite a long time, until 10 p.m. if you don't mind. So my brother came by himself in the middle of the day because he was working, he was passing by, he was able to come and see me. That's nice, well I was in a non-critical condition.

Relatives are helpful

Family and friends are helpful during the ICU stay. But patients want to be able to choose their visitors. It is therefore important that the team informs and involves the family.

Contact with family

Mr. Georges G. was conscious in the intensive care unit and has positive memories of communication with the staff.

E : No. As they say, positive memories generally leave less of an impression than perhaps, perhaps negative memories. I don't really have any negative memories, I was treated well and very happy. No, the interaction with the staff was interesting. Every time I asked a question, I either got the answer straight away or they came back to me with an answer. I had lost some feeling which I still haven't recovered because I fell on my right side, and then the whole right side went: knee, hip, elbow, shoulder, etc. And I had lost some feeling here, so I asked if that was normal or not, and then we looked it up and found the explanation, saying that yes, as I had had a nerve that was severed here, I might not have the same feeling in the muscle. That's it. But it's nothing, nothing at all. I can't get any more information than that from my memories.

Communication is important

Patients want to interact with the team. They want to be respected. If patients can't respond, it doesn't mean they don't understand or don't want to be explained. The care relationship benefits from words, explanations of what the nurse is doing, and multi-sensory listening, even when the patient does not seem to be aware or able to process detailed information.

Georges G.

A lesson for life

Video Interview

Related experiences

Other experiences by Georges G.

Georges G.