So glad to find a site that understands what I have been through.

[d151058]

The story goes like this as I still cannot believe it happened to me.I was unwell and went to the docs antibiotics given which gave me thrush another medication given. Two days later meds still not working I went to hospital for another lot of different antibiotics by that time I was not with it properly got home and early morning was taken into hospital by ambulance, the last thing I remember was laying on the trolley waiting for the A&E doors to open. Was taken to a ward and then as unable to breathe so rushed to icu then I was not responding to treatment and they found out I had bilateral pneumonia, septicemia and bird flu so went then into isolation was in a induced coma for 12 days touch and go twice fought the ventilator so had to have a trachy daughter was told I had three times the amount of sedation than a full grown man. Many hallucinations later slowly came round not knowing I had a trachy thought I had a sore throat because nurses were forever putting tubes down throat for me to cough. Then onto HDCU after five days onto a respiratory ward and after a week home. I had lost over 2 1/2 stone could not walk and was like a walking skeleton.

Six months later walking and weight on I do not look like the same person but I am suffering dreams not sleeping, muscle spasms in legs and arms with tingling, and worse of all forgetfullness along with the breathless as my heart enlarged with the stress, and kidneys not working properly my family now think i am fine they have tried to forget what happened but i am living with this and it really frustrates me that they do not understand .

[Offcut]

Hi

You sound like me everything happened quickly I was 12 days coma 32 days ICU I lost 3.5 stone. My Memory is not as good as it was but we have both been blessed with life. I also have sleep problems and the dreams are a lot better it is all down to time and trying to put the jigsaw together in your mind. I still have questions but I have now found a lot of answers. You are not alone and I wish I could say it is a quick fix! Work with it do not fight it.

My Story healthunlocked.com/icusteps...

Be Well

Phill

[d151058 in reply to Offcut]

Dear Bill

Thank you for your kind words and yes you are right we have been gifted with a second chance, and I will have to continue to try and be positive and work with it.

Debbie

[Luckyone]

Phil is so right, it's a very familiar story to many of us, I spent 3 months in ICU with double pneumonia, severe sepsis and multiple organ failure, in an induced coma for seven and half weeks, only to wake up to find I'd had a tracheotomy and couldn't speak or move as I had had so much muscle wastage, not knowing if it was real or if I was still in the world of nightmares and hallucinations, but somehow I came through it all and now nearly 3 years later things are much better, I'm left with a few health problems but have the gift of life and now help other by running a local support group helping both patients and relatives understand the trauma they've been through is normal and they are not alone in dealing with it.

best wishes for the future,

Bill