Hi All
Thank you for all your support. After 96 days at hospital my husband is finally home. He is recovering and is struggling to sit stand and walk. The Physiotherapist is working with him. I wanted to ask if you had same issue and how long did it take you to walk?
Hi Rgsable
I’m not too sure how many days I was in but it was over 3 months. I’m 6’2” and whilst it took me a while to start taking steps I used a device called a “pulpit” which is a tall adjustable walking frame. Initially I was helped because my arms weren’t strong enough. As my time progressed I was back to walking with my sticks and without them in a room. Once home we were in lock down and my walking went downhill. However, living in a village, meant I could go out although it was taking longer to put on and take off my coat. It’s now nearly 4 months since leaving hospital and I am walking around the bungalow and garden without my sticks and street walking with them. Part of the issues for me is confidence and balance.
Getting up from a chair is a different matter. Until recently I couldn’t get up from my chair without either using my hands to lift me or the ejection function of my chair.
I joined ICUstepschester who run zoom chair exercises (exercises sitting on a chair) I can now stand from a chair. These exercises have made all the difference to me especially with all the muscle wasteage highlights are being able to boil a kettle and lift it safely to make a cup of tea.
So the answer to your question is it takes time and probably most of all confidence. No pressure please we have been through enough!
Thank you for sharing
I was unconscious for 57 days - within 2 or 3 days of coming around - the physios hoisted me into a chair to sit out & ever decreasingly in a declining position over the week until I was sitting upright. Eventually I persuaded them to give to two extra ‘smart foam’ cushions - I had lost so much weight/ muscle over my body that the base of my spine was agony whilst sitting normally. Within a few more days the physios were encouraging me to sit over the bed, sit to stand with another contraption, then Zimmer frame & so forth. Within another 8 weeks I was capable of walking up & down ward, showering & going to the loo on my own. I needed a special frame on loo to heighten it. If you have no core muscle, lowering yourself onto loo or getting off is really hard. 60 days after waking up I came home. Opposite my house is a square field - it is 979m round. I walked a section of this field each day until I could walk whole thing & eventually I was allowed to do this without a chaperone.
What I struggled with was balance, standing for any length of time, I couldn’t crouch, kneel or lie on the floor, either getting down on floor or getting back up, get out of a bath, I needed a push to get up from bed at first.
I was determined to gain my independence without realising what trauma my family had just been through - without realising, I was desensitised to their concerns.
To recover from critical care takes about 12 days for everyday you are in hospital - it’s a long haul journey!!
Your husband will have to be patient with himself.
We do some exercise classes on Zoom with instructor - you & your are welcome to attend. 😊
Hi, what a journey you have been on . I'm so pleased your husband is now home with you. My husband has been home for 5 weeks on Friday, he is able to walk with frames and aids. He is a much slower version of the man he was, but day by day he is getting a bit stronger and his muscles are reforming, with the aid , support and guidance of the physio teams . He is able to walk upstairs now without us supporting him, he is exhausted when he has done any walking. He is also doing his own exercises in between the physio's visits.
Do you have physio's coming in, and does your husband have a chair that's quite high and supportive ?
Fabulous news!
I was in hospital for 36 days, half of that sedated and ventilated.
I spent a week on the acute ward after ICU and was then transferred to a recuperation ward, where I stayed for a further week.
I was visited by teams of physios (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) every day in the acute ward. By day 7 on the acute ward I could walk 3 steps on a frame.
On the recuperation ward, I was visited every day by the OT team. By day 6 on that ward I could walk with a stick and brush my teeth.
I was sent home and managed to get up the stairs with a stick. The hospital sent me a perching chair, a seat for the bath and some sponge tubes to help with cutlery. I was visited 2-3 times a week by physios for a couple of months, by which time I was almost completely mobile.
2.5 months on from hospital and I can walk without a stick, carry a tray of tea up the stairs and do some yoga. If I go for a 'long' walk (2 miles on the flat) then I still take the stick but only really use it for the return journey, when I tend to get tired and a bit wobbly on my feet.
I'm still tired all the time, muscle aches and pains and neuralgia drive me mad, but I am pretty much fully mobile.
Don't despair, your husband will get there! The biggest issue, I'm told, is trying to improve too quickly. I overdid it a few times and it put me back a few days each time. Slow and steady wins the race!
All the best to you both.
How did you cope waiting to find out what normal would be like for you?
Not being able to walk or move
How many of you have been back to visit ICU and did it help?
How long is recovery?
How long to expect someone to be intubated for?! 
