Intensive care: Patients' experiences site preview

Interview 26: She arrived, we had a discussion, and I gave her my watch and my wedding ring for safekeeping. So that in the event that I didn't survive, because it was quite serious, she would have them.

Interview 20: I'm not sure that it would help to be told all the things that might happen and might go wrong in intensive care. I think probably the way it was done, they said you will go to intensive care, the way it was done was probably the right way for me. I don't think I would have been reassured to know that I was going to have a urine bag, a blood supply, a wound drain, oxygen.

Interview 29: And I can remember saying to my mum, I knew it was my mum. I knew who my mum and dad were, and I knew who my husband was, but I didn't know their names. And I can remember, asking who I was and people not really understanding that. And I can remember indicating to me, mum, I don't know what I look like. And she said, ‘oh, you look all right love’ thinking I was concerned about how I looked. What I meant was, I don't actually know what I look like.

Interview 04: I was having so many visitors I was too tired to do my physio. And I knew that was happening and it was a really tough decision but I made [partner] tell my family, and this is me sisters and you know, me brother, people I love, my daughters that I love so much. But I wanted to get out hospital more than anything, so I stopped the visitors coming, didn’t I.

Interview 14: And I thought to myself, well, I may have lost four days of my life being in the hospital, but I've got the rest of my life ahead of me. I'm only 35. I still have loads to do. I still have to bring up my children, you know. And I'd like to see my children also get-, go finish school, go to university, get married, have children, become grandparents, you know. So I'm not going to dwell on four days of my life.