Mrs. Anna A was aware that she was hallucinating and was trying to maintain a sense of reality.

Mme Anna A se rendait compte qu'elle hallucinait et faisait des efforts pour garder le sens de la réalité.

Des hallucinations, je me voyais dans une grotte sombre enfin oui des images comme ça.  Tantôt oui des grottes avec des branchages, de la terre, du sombre et tout à coup une lumière fluo jaune ou rouge vif.  Et puis là, il fallait que je ferme les yeux et que je les rouvre pour me dire non, non il n’y a rien de tout ça, tu es juste à l’hôpital aux soins intensifs, tu retrouves ton plafond. Ça c’était...

Mme Anna A parle de ses hallucinations.

La signora Anna A era consapevole di avere delle allucinazioni e cercava di mantenere il senso della realtà.

Allucinazioni, mi sono vista in una grotta buia, ebbene sì, immagini del genere.  A volte sì, grotte con rami, terra, buio e improvvisamente una luce fluorescente gialla o rossa brillante.  E poi dovevo chiudere gli occhi e riaprirli per dirmi no, non c'è niente del genere, sei solo in ospedale in terapia intensiva, stai recuperando il tuo soffitto. Questo era tutto...

La signora Anna A. parla delle sue allucinazioni.

Frau Anna A. war sich bewusst, dass sie halluzinierte und versuchte, ihren Realitätssinn zu bewahren.

Halluzinationen, ich sah mich in einer dunklen Höhle, ja, solche Bilder.  Manchmal ja, Höhlen mit Ästen, Erde, Dunkelheit und plötzlich ein helles gelbes oder rotes fluoreszierendes Licht.  Und dann musste ich meine Augen schließen und wieder öffnen, um mir zu sagen: Nein, so etwas gibt es nicht, du bist nur im Krankenhaus auf der Intensivstation, du bekommst deine Decke zurück. Das war's.

Frau Anna A. spricht über ihre Halluzinationen.

Hallucinations, I saw myself in a dark cave, yes, images like that.  Sometimes yes, caves with branches, earth, dark and suddenly a yellow or bright red fluorescent light.  And then I had to close my eyes and open them again to tell myself no, there's nothing like that, you're just in the hospital in intensive care, you're getting your ceiling back. That's it...

Mrs. Anna A talks about her hallucinations.

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.

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

Ms. Anna A. learns that she has been intubated when the physician tells her in an explanatory conversation 6 months after her discharge from the intensive care unit.

E: Luckily I have a great memory of the ICU stay although / even I wish I hadn't had to go. Considering everything that happened afterwards, yes a very good memory. And then I would say, I was received by the professor in charge of the intensive care six months later for a small assessment and there I went with my brother who was very close to me // well who is still very close to me // and there she explained to us what had happened. And there I discovered things that I didn't remember or maybe I wasn't aware of at the time. I was surprised to learn that.
I: For example?
E: Do you remember that you were intubated? And no, I didn't remember that I was intubated at all. Now I don't remember. I still don't remember. Well, now I can say it because they tell me, but I didn't remember that. That's it.

Ms. Anna A. later learns from her doctor that she has been intubated.

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.

Ms Anna A. was very tired during her stay in the intensive care unit. She was particularly disturbed by the noise and the light, but she also received a lot of care from the nursing staff.

So I remember the time that passed at first very slowly, an immense tiredness, the impression of not understanding what was happening to me. And then the noise, the light that was very strong. And at the beginning, too, when I was under morphine, well, that was unpleasant for me because I started having hallucinations and I couldn't stand that.And then the fact of lying in bed all the time and then (almost) not being able to move, that was difficult.  

I: Do you have a more specific, practical example where you felt that way? 

E:Yes, already the fact that I had to be washed, for example, completely, or, that's it, I couldn't get up. So I was in bed and the nurses had to wash me. That was a bit difficult; well, they did it very well, it was admirable and they really did everything to not make me feel indebted or whatever; well, very well, but for me it was difficult. And the other thing that was also difficult was the heat and the thirst. So I couldn't drink, I was thirsty, that was difficult. And the heat, I was always hot.

Mrs. Anna A. remembers the noise, the lights, the fatigue and her helplessness.

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.

Anna A.

Mrs. Anna A talks about her hallucinations.

Video Interview

Related experiences

Other experiences by Anna A.

Anna A.