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

Per il signor Alain A., i sogni erano piacevoli. Stava fluttuando su una nuvola.

Fu allora, credo, che mi svegliai dal coma indotto. Penso che fosse lì perché non riesco a pensare a nessun'altra spiegazione. Ed ero, sì, davvero bravo. Era una grande nuvola bianca. Abbastanza spesso e ci stavo seduto sopra e stavo davvero bene. Dopo, quindi se volete dopo l'ho fatto - non so se è nel coma, ma credo sia più dopo - ho fatto dei sogni che non erano possibili dove con la mia famiglia, alcune volte, e alcune volte tutto, ero a New York, ero a San Francisco, ero a Marsiglia, ero a Parigi, ero a Londra, ero in tutto il mondo, ma nel mio letto.

Il signor Alain A si è visto al settimo cielo.

Pour M. Alain A., les rêves étaient agréables. Il flottait sur un nuage.

C'était alors je pense à mon réveil du coma artificiel. Je pense que c'était là parce que je ne vois pas d'autre explication. Et j'étais,  oui vraiment bien. C'était un gros, gros nuage blanc. Assez épais et j'étais posé dessus et j'étais vraiment super bien. APRÈS, alors si vous voulez après j'ai fait -  alors je sais pas si c'est dans le coma, mais je pense c'est plutôt après -  j'ai fait des rêves pas possibles où avec ma famille, une partie des fois, et des fois la totalité, j'ai été à New York, j'ai été à San Francisco, j'ai été à Marseille, j'ai été à Paris, j'ai été à Londres, j'ai été un peu partout dans le monde, mais dans mon lit.

M. Alain A se voyait sur un nuage.

Für Herrn Alain A. waren  die Träume angenehm. Er schwebte mit auf einer Wolke.

Das war, glaube ich, der Zeitpunkt, an dem ich aus dem künstlichen Koma aufwachte. Ich glaube, dass es dort war, weil ich mir keine andere Erklärung vorstellen kann. Und ich war, ja, wirklich gut. Es war eine große, große weiße Wolke. Ziemlich dick und ich saß darauf und es war wirklich toll. Danach, also wenn Sie wollen, danach habe ich - also ich weiß nicht, ob es im Koma ist, aber ich denke, es ist mehr danach - ich hatte Träume, die nicht möglich waren, wo ich mit meiner Familie war, manchmal, und manchmal alles, ich war in New York, ich war in San Francisco, ich war in Marseille, ich war in Paris, ich war in London, ich war überall auf der Welt, aber in meinem Bett.

Herr Alain A. sah sich auf Wolke 7 schweben.

Corine

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.

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. 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

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

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

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.

Mr. Alain A saw himself floating on a cloud.

Related experiences

Other experiences by Alain A.

Alain A.