Despite the constant noise of the ICU, Mr. Charles C. felt safe and was impressed with the efficiency of the clinical team.

Nonostante il rumore costante della terapia intensiva, il signor Charles C. si è sentito al sicuro ed è stato colpito dall'efficienza del team clinico.

Ricordo  sfortunato! No, ricordo l'efficienza e la facilità con cui si operava. Sentivi di essere in mani molto buone e sicure. Questa è una delle impressioni che ho. La seconda impressione è che era frustrante, difficile dormire di notte a causa del trambusto che c'era, a causa delle discussioni fuori dalla stanza e, sapete. Ho commentato un paio di volte. Ma. Quindi due impressioni: uno, si prendono davvero cura di te. Due, il suono non sembra essere una cosa importante. Perché hanno un sacco di cose da fare. E quindi, di notte, quando dovresti dormire, non riesci a dormire.  Quindi due piccole cose.

Il Signor Charles C parla dell'efficienza dell'ICU.

Trotz des ständigen Lärms auf der Intensivstation fühlte sich Herr Charles C. sicher und war beeindruckt von der Effizienz des klinischen Teams.

Unglücklicherweise  erinnere ich mich! Nein, ich erinnere mich an die Effizienz und die Leichtigkeit, mit der die Leute arbeiteten. Man hatte das Gefühl, dass man in sehr guten und sicheren Händen war. Das ist der eine Eindruck, den ich habe. Der zweite Eindruck ist, es war frustrierend und schwierig  wegen der Unruhe, die vor sich ging, wegen der Diskussionen außerhalb des Zimmers, nachts zu schlafen und Sie wissen schon. Ich habe mich ein paar Mal dazu geäußert. Aber. Also zwei Eindrücke: Erstens, sie kümmern sich wirklich um einen. Zweitens, der Ton scheint nicht so wichtig zu sein. Denn die haben viel zu tun. Und deshalb kann man nachts, wenn man eigentlich schlafen sollte, nicht schlafen.  Wissen Sie, so zwei kleine Dinge.

Herr Charles C. spricht über die Effizienz der Intensivstation.

Malgré le bruit constant de l'USI, Monsieur  Charles C. s'est senti en sécurité et  a été impressionné par l'efficacité de l'équipe clinique.

Je me souviens de malheureux ! Non, je me souviens de l'efficacité et de la facilité avec lesquelles les gens opéraient. Vous aviez l'impression d'être entre de très bonnes mains, en sécurité. C'est la première impression que j'ai. La deuxième impression est qu'il était frustrant, difficile de dormir la nuit à cause de l'agitation, des discussions à l'extérieur de la chambre et, vous savez. J'ai fait des commentaires à ce sujet à quelques reprises. Mais. Donc deux impressions : un, ils prennent vraiment soin de vous. Deux, le bruit ne semble pas être une chose importante. Parce qu'ils ont beaucoup de choses à faire. Et donc, la nuit, quand vous êtes censé dormir, vous ne pouvez pas dormir.  Vous savez, donc deux petites choses.

M. Charles C parle de l'efficacité de l'équipe clinique

I remember unfortunate! No,  I remember the efficiency and the ease with which people operated. You felt that you were in very good and safe hands. That’s one impression that I have. The second impression is, it was frustratingly,  difficult to sleep at night because of the commotion going on,  because of the discussions outside the room and,  you know. I commented about it a few times. But. So two impressions: one, they really take care of you. Two, sound doesn’t seem to be an important thing. Because they got lots of things to do. And therefore, at night when you’re supposed to be asleep, you can’t be asleep, you know so two little things.

Mr. Charles C talks about the efficiency of the ICU

Patients generally have a good impression of the clinical team, which they consider professional and very active. They are often confused about what is going on, and tired because of the severity of their illness. Noise and lights may bother them, but they usually feel safe in this intensive care unit.

Patient’s typical perceptions

With the technical and medical possibilities on intensive care a patient can be able to survive life-threatening illnesses. These experiences of critical illness and intensive care medicine are challenging for patients and families. Often experiences made on intensive care unit (ICU) can be life changing.
In small video- or audio-sequences we would like to illustrate the experiences made by patients on ICU and how they handled their stay in this critical situation.
Many patients share their experiences on intensive care unit and show how these experiences influenced their life.

Grazie alle possibilità mediche e tecniche offerte dalla terapia intensiva, oggi un paziente può sopravvivere a malattie gravi e precedentemente 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 scoprire come altre persone hanno vissuto il loro tempo in un’unità di terapia intensiva. In brevi video o estratti di testo, i pazienti raccontano la loro permanenza in terapia intensiva, il modo in cui hanno gestito questo periodo delle loro vite, ed il modo in cui 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

Mr. Charles C. remembers very unpleasant hallucinations of smell and taste.

And there, it was a more difficult thing. I was in a coma for four days and I was losing weight and it was difficult to feed me. And I was on morphine quite heavily. And that gave me all sorts of problems: one, the most severe, was the sense of smell and of taste, which I reckon was augmented a hundred times. So, one little grain of sugar in water was impossible to drink. Smells, I could / I felt I could smell like a wolf smells. I could / I knew what was happening around me, not from a directional point of view, but that was very difficult.  And,  the only problem I had there then, was getting over to the people who were dealing with me:   that I couldn’t eat these things or drink these things, because the taste was too strong. And each time I would take a glass of even water, or orange juice, I would be vomiting, because of the strength of the taste. That was something that I found in, you know. It was I guess about a day and a half before I really managed to convince someone that I wasn’t exaggerating. And we think that the reason was the morphine, but it may not have been. It may have been swollen mouth or whatever.

Mr. Charles C. suffered from an olfactory hallucination.

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.

Because he was not in a coma, Mr. Charles C. remembered his ICU stay.

I: What do you remember, is really what you remember yourself or it’s what people have said to you after? 
E: No, it’s what I remember myself. I usually write up these experiences and just keep a note what I need to remember. And then afterwards of course, a year later you still have impressions of what happened, which is what I gave you to start with. But it’s what I remember, not what other people were telling me. 

I: And so you told me you have taken some notes. 

E: Yes, I was reading them earlier this morning for the intensive care that I had in 2012 in the (name of the hospital) and there, it’s, I made more precise notes. This time, in (location 1) it was really not necessary because there wasn’t very much to write down. It was just a matter of keeping a check on the monitors behind me and it was that sort of thing that I was doing.

Mr. Charles C. remained awake in the ICU and remembers well.

Our interviewees often have to deal with memory gaps. Their descriptions are a mixture of what they experienced themselves,what is added afterwards by relatives or team members, or feelings/emotions to which they give words afterwards. Regardless of these limitations, it is important to note that these memories represent real experiences for the patient.

Forgetting: remembering with the help of other people.

Mr. Charles C. used headphones to avoid being bothered by the noise.

E: And the only other negative that I have was  that a hospital functions 24 hours a day. Everyone is working and doing things 24 hours a day. The norm is that one tries to sleep during the night, but the people who are working 24 hours a day carry on as if there is no day and night. So noise disturbance is quite frequent. And I found that particularly in (location 1). And in the end, I would put on noise cancellation headphones if I was trying to sleep at night. Because, you know, whether it was two people outside in the common space who were talking at a distance and giggling and joking about things, the noise disturbance was there. And I mentioned it a few times and, you know, I got the feeling that I was just being a grumpy old man and maybe I was.

Mr. Charles C. used headphones against noise.

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.

Charles C.

Mr. Charles C talks about the efficiency of the ICU

Video Interview

Related experiences

Other experiences by Charles C.

Charles C.