91 loooooong days but......... my brother is out of ICU and on the ward. Soooooooo happy. 91 days but he beat the virus. Happy days. X x X ❤️❤️🥰. He’s was so so pleased to be out of ICU. Scan of his kidneys tomorrow and go from there. Speech and language will reassess his swallowing reflect so he can start eating and drinking small amounts. He wants fish and chips and mushy peas!!! x x sooooo proud of my bro.
For all you put there in the same place we were all those weeks ago - keep positive. Keep the faith and never lose hope. X x
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RiaJam
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@RiaJam Way hey - I left ICU after 90 days - had my first meal at 75 days - he’ll be shocked by what his taste buds will tolerate. I found everything was too sweet, too salty or too tasty. ( Goldilocks and all 😊).
He still will have a mountain to climb but he & you are not on your own - there are people who have walked the walk ahead of both of you. He may find the critical care guide on this link helpful. If he has the strength to use a tablet yet. Anyway best wishes moving forward
Aaah thank you Sepsur. I hope you are making a good recovery on your journey. Yes he has a long way to go but he’s here and we are truly thankful especially to all the NHS staff who fought so hard for him and for everyone who needs ICU care. We really have the best of the best in our healthcare system.
I myself spend a lot of time checking info on this site and will definitely share some with my brother (gently and slowly).
I had to be assessed for swallow. He will be lucky to have fish & chips or even mushy peas. They started me off with swallowing exercises together with chipped ice, I progressed to chipped ice AND water. Then a camera assessment was done and I was allowed flavoured water and thin soup. They did try a water thickener which was vile. They will test him with foods of different consistency eg yogurt, ice cream, banana. It was about 6 weeks before I was upgraded to yogurt or apple purée and then quite quickly to basically liquidised food with some lumps - level 6. I came out mid March when was taken off the tube feed and continued with level 6 and banana but definitely not F&C’s but mushy peas yes. I am waiting for my first follow up appointment which is unlikely to be before the end of August. So I have extended my range of textures (against the rules) but still can’t have bread, baked potatoes with skin or choc brownies etc.
Continue supporting your brother and don’t forget that you too will need support.
Thank you for this information. Although we realise that it will be some time before f&c is on the menu I didn’t realise that it was such a regime leading up to some kind of ‘normal’ eating. He’s a fussy eater my bro and doesn’t eat anything that looks remotely like a vegetable - although ‘mushy peas’ don’t count! He was admitted at 15 stone and is now down to 9.5 so will need to start eating a bit more and soon. Currently he is still with an NG tube (hopefully incorporating veggies 😀). We have asked that he be weighed again this week although realising that as he can’t yet stand this will not be entirely accurate.
Thank you so much for the information. It’s good to know what to expect. Seeing his face saying he is gasping for a cuppa is heartbreaking.
I personally have found this group very helpful - I have tried to persuade my sil to join too but not sure she has yet. I will try and attend the zoom sessions in the future but for now.........thank you everyone for your kind words, help and advice and wishing your loved ones speedy recoveries.
I should stress that what I outlined above happened to me. Everyone is different. I’m 6’ 3” and before I went in I was +- 17 stone. When I came out I was 13 ½ stone once home I dropped further to 13 stone but now after 3 ½ months I am back up to 13 ½ stone.
Last night, Tuesday, was the first relatives drop in on zoom. My wife visited the group and found it really good and helpful.
Thank you Steve. The most he got yesterday was a sip or two of water and some yoghurt oh.........and a visit from his wife - first time she’s seen him since 8th April. 🥰
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