Not knowing is the worst

[baldmike]

I too was in a medically induced coma, 14 days on vent. I still have no memory of months leading to event. Very scary not knowing what happened. 5 months out of hospital, still dealing with bedsores from ICU. Strep A was what caused problem.

[Rhyl1 Partner Moderator ICUsteps]

I’m sorry to hear that you are still suffering from bedsores. I’m surprised that they developed after 14 days on the ventilator. The beds used in ICU are designed to be pressure relieving. I’m also surprised that you have no memory for months before your admission. It is not unusual for patients to have no memory for their admission to hospital if they had become very ill at home. But usually this is for a few days or hours before their admission, not months. One of the reasons that ICUsteps support the use of ICU diaries is that they can help patients fill some of the gaps in their memory. Have you requested a copy of your medical notes? They may fill in some of the gaps for you

[FamilyHistorian]

Hi baldmike

So I was ventilated sedated for 6-8 weeks but in relation to your memory loss I have no memory from a month or so before my first admission in November 19. I wasn’t ill before going in to hospital. Even where I have been prompted about things with the exception of one I can’t remember.

My daughter said that with all the other changes in me that I must have had a brain transplant so I said that explained the memory loss as no back up was done.😂

I didn’t have any sores in icu however I did when I went back to the ward and that was due to very poor care by one HCA - I’ll say no more

[Sepsur in reply to FamilyHistorian]

Yeh, I had one starting on one heel just as I woke from coma and the nurses were on it in a flash, very very uncomfortable. I don’t remember much of the 3 days leading up to admission which I put down to being so severely ill although I had no sense of the peril I was actually in. This inability to gauge my own unwell-ness has remained with me which leaves me feeling a mixture of being like an unreliable witness to a crime or the victim of a violation without knowing what the violation was....