39 years and 68 days in intensive care
I arrived at the emergency room on November 13, 2017 following fever and respiratory difficulties. The next day, I was directly transferred to intensive care where I will stay for 2 months with a life-threatening prognosis. I was detected with a rare disease and several other infections.
The first 3 weeks were a blur, mainly because of the coma that lasted 2 weeks, then a great deal of confusion before undergoing emergency surgery. I underwent a total colectomy (removal of the colon) and the installation of a stoma (surgical deviation of a natural duct) which I kept for a year, chemotherapy, dialysis 3 or 4 times a week following kidney failure, various biopsies, lumbar punctures, thoracentesis (punctures of the chest wall to evacuate liquid from the pleura), etc....
I remember a lot of my anxieties and those in the eyes of my loved ones, the fear of dying, the incessant "beeping" of machines, alarms... I remember my paralyzed, skeletal body, not having enough strength to lift my arm. Many realistic nightmares every night. The feeling of no longer being in control of my body. On Christmas Day, to cheer me up, Pr. Mira, head of the Intensive intensive care Medicine department at Hôpital Cochin, agreed to bring my dog into my room.
Above all, I'd like to thank the nursing staff, who were so kind and fought day and night to give me "my second life". I'd like to thank Professor Mira, Professor Chiche, the nurses, doctors, interns and orderlies. They all gave me the strength to fight. I would also like to thank my family, of course, who were so present during this ordeal, as well as my friends who sent me so much love, and also the love of my life, who stayed by my side throughout this ordeal.
Today, thanks to the nursing staff who have made my life their priority, I'm living my second life. I've done more in the last 2 years than in the previous 20. I'm living with a partner, I've gone back to school, I've set up my own coaching company, I've got a second dog and a house in the country where I can recharge my batteries every weekend. I'm happy and fulfilled. I'm in great shape. So THANK YOU.
19 years and 42 days in intensive care
On February 5, 2020, I was admitted to intensive care following a complication of the flu. On Monday I started to run a fever, on Tuesday I went to college, and on Wednesday I couldn't breathe.
The doctors put me into a deep artificial coma to keep me alive. My liver, kidneys and mainly my lungs were affected, so much so that my chances of survival were close to 1%.
The whole team on the ward, the orderlies, nurses and doctors, took tireless care of me. I was brought out of the coma after 3 weeks, then it took another 3 weeks to be extubated, 3 weeks which I spent conscious, with a tube in my trachea...
Despite all these hardships, I'm alive and have a second life. I've gone back to school and passed my exams.... intensive care has the extraordinary potential to save lives. I've been lucky enough.
49 years and 80 days in intensive care
9 years ago, an autoimmune disease in its most severe form landed me in intensive care. Having never been hospitalized before, my life was turned upside down in a matter of days, and I was admitted to intensive care when I was between life and death, 7 months pregnant.
I was then placed in an induced coma as my prognosis was vital... and I lost my baby. The 3 months I spent in intensive care were 3 months of struggle for me, 3 months to be reborn, to breathe on my own again... 3 months to live, quite simply.
Then it took me a year of physical reconstruction, to learn to walk, talk and eat again, to become autonomous and regain my freedom. It took another few years of psychological reconstruction, mixed with acceptance and resilience.
And then Sacha, my son, was born. That was my greatest victory over life. It was also a victory for all those who gave me this second life. My loved ones, of course, and the wonderful, competent and caring medical team who accompanied me throughout this ordeal.