This person reconstructed her memories of the time in the intensive care unit with the help of her family's narratives.

Questa persona ha ricostruito i suoi ricordi del periodo in terapia intensiva con l'aiuto dei racconti della sua famiglia.

Ecco come è andata. Questa è la cosa assurda, non riesco a capire perché. Non posso dire che mi ha dato fastidio, non ho assolutamente alcun ricordo di quello che è successo. E lei ha dovuto raccontarmi tutto, ed è difficile ora distinguere tra quello che ho vissuto e quello che so per sentito dire. Ma una situazione mi è venuta in mente. Fu quando venne il chirurgo e disse che doveva ricucire la sutura, alle dieci di sera.

Questa persona ricorda con l'aiuto della sua famiglia.

Cette personne a reconstitué ses souvenirs du séjour en unité de soins intensifs à l'aide des récits de sa famille.

C'était comme ça.  C'est ça qui est fou, je ne comprends pas pourquoi. Je ne peux pas dire que ça m'ait dérangé, je n'ai absolument aucun souvenir de ce qui s'est passé. Elle a dû tout me raconter et il est difficile aujourd'hui de faire la distinction entre ce que j'ai vécu et ce que je sais par ouï-dire. Mais une situation m'est venue à l'esprit. C'est quand le chirurgien est venu et a dit qu'il devait recoudre la suture, à dix heures du soir.

Cette personne se souvient avec l'aide de sa famille.

Diese Person rekonstruierte ihre Erinnerungen an die Zeit auf der Intensivstation mit Hilfe der Erzählungen ihrer Familie.

Das war so. Das ist eben das Verrückte, ich kann nicht nachvollziehen warum. Ich kann nicht sagen es hat mich gestört, ich kann mich absolut nicht daran erinnern was passiert ist. Und sie musste mir das ja alles erzählen und es ist schwierig jetzt auseinander zu halten, was ich erlebt habe und was ich vom Hörensagen weiss. Aber eine Situation ist mir doch noch in den Sinn gekommen. Und zwar als der Chirurg kam und sagte, er müsse die Naht jetzt nochmals nähen, nachts um zehn Uhr.

Diese Person erinnert sich mit Hilfe ihrer Familie.

Susanne

That was so. That's the crazy thing, I can't understand why. I can't say it bothered me, I absolutely can't remember what happened. And she had to tell me everything, and it's difficult now to distinguish between what I experienced and what I know from hearsay. But one situation did come to my mind. It was when the surgeon came and said that he had to sew the suture again, at ten o'clock at night.

This person remembers with the help of her  family.

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.

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

Corine

This person talks with a relative about how embarrassed she is about not remembering, about having lost control for two days.

A4: So when you first said this, these gaps, I had the impression that it bothers you a lot. Because there's just a piece of the puzzle missing in this picture. There's something missing and you had no control over that time.
P4: That's bad anyway.
A4: That's what I felt there. But the fact that your teeth were brushed and you were cared for, I know that. That took place. 
P4: That's good. Yes, well, it's just a memory gap, and I think it's just a matter of trusting that everything has gone right. You can imagine or think up things that are not at all realistic. What happened in those 24 hours a day. That's what makes me, when you don't know anything at all.... How was I taken care of? You know, all those things that I actually care about. The hole, that's what bothers me. That I can remember what was up there for two days at the most, and nothing else. Nothing else. That makes trouble for me.
I1: And you said earlier about having no control. 
P4: Yes, you give up control when you have an operation. And I am actually a bit of a control freak. Yes, you just have to say that, that's part of my character. And then to have this confidence that everything went right, that's what I miss. I probably still miss that today, I can't say it any other way.And I can't put it any other way, I wouldn't know how to at the moment.  Well, let's stay with that.
A4: In retrospect, do you still have the feeling of being at the mercy of this situation?
P4: Yes, of course, you are at the mercy.

This person has a feeling of insecurity when faced with memory gaps.

For this person, it's important that the patient is more considered and involved in his or her care.

E : I think it's important to involve the patient anyway. I mean, I don't get involved in things I have no idea about. But with certain things, yes.
I : Do you have the feeling that you weren't involved enough?
E : Yes. Although, I have to say, I was amazed. I mean, I've experienced so many hospitals that you can't even imagine. And I've never had such good care. I realised that I could even let myself go. That I don't have to be constantly on my guard to make sure they're doing it right. Because that's also part of me, I always have to make sure that everything is going right. That's the way it is. And then I even realised that I could hand it over because I felt like I was in good hands. That's it, that's all I can think of.

The patient wants to be involved

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.

The team can improve the care relationship with patients

This patient  experienced anxiety when discharged from intensive care.

I : Do you also have feelings of fear or things like that?
E : No, I wasn't really afraid, not even of dying. I really wanted God to take me now. And that it would finally be over. The fear only came afterwards, when I left the intensive care unit. But in the intensive care unit, no. 
I : What were the predominant feelings in the intensive care unit? I think you said that a bit before.
P4: Feelings. No feelings. So let's say no feelings for eight days. ...days was when I realized how I was actually doing. Then came the fear of whether I would manage to get back on my feet at all.

Feeling of insecurity outside the ICU.

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.

Anonymus 1

This person remembers with the help of her family.

Related experiences

Other experiences by Anonymus 1

Anonymus 1