A matter of life and death: a report from the intensive care unit
Tell why the family should be let to severe patients.
Here is a very, very quiet, like an empty room, not a room where six patients connected to the apparatus. Contrary to stereotypes, these devices also work silently.
After a couple of minutes begin to understand that life goes on and here, just very, very quiet. Here camera some blinking buttons. Here’s someone hard, breathed deeply. Quietly are the people in green coats. Not immediately obvious that some of them are not physicians, and visitors. Notice how the two help a man to get comfortable, something the woman says to the man on the other bunk. But step away from the patient bedside — and no sound is audible.
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Suddenly this incredible silence in dire understanding of the phrase “a matter of life and death.” Now she will associate me not with tubes and drips, and this is literally palpable silence.
A serious condition, stable
I was in intensive care only as a curious journalist, but just looking around, I start to ponder: what do you feel people who lie day and night in this motionless silence? They feel their loved ones on the other side of the closed door?
“To understand this, try to sit better and lie down in a closed room day” — suggest both doctors and patients themselves and their relatives. Without any connection with the outside world.
“The worst thing is not being able to see a loved one, tells me Elena, whose husband is in intensive care for almost three weeks. — You understand that it is bad, not just bad, he is in a serious condition”.
And of course, the doctors are doing everything possible, and you’re not a doctor and can not do anything, only hold his hand… how it is important!Elena
Alexey, Elena’s husband, is connected to a ventilator, he doesn’t speak but he looks from me to the wife. Then pulls her hand, and in his agonized glance it becomes clear: he does not want to have his wife distracted by someone else. He wants these brief two hours that are allocated to communication, it was only him.
“A year and a half ago my husband was lying in intensive care in another hospital, — Elena continues a little later, in the hallway. Then the door slammed shut in front of me, said, “serious Condition, call tomorrow.” And tomorrow we still have to live and not the lime itself, all sorts of thoughts. Tomorrow I call again: a serious condition is stable. And what exactly — is unknown, think what you want.
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After a few days managed to persuade the nurse to tell him a little note. Then another. Alex then told that these notes were for him as proof that there is another world outside the hospital where his wife, son, parents, friends. How would I, Yes, we all, it would be easier if we could at least two words from Lesha to get the answer.
And when this year it was brought by ambulance to the First City, and the doors of the ICU slammed shut in front of me, I thought, cannot be, the nightmare repeats itself… Prepared to beg our doctors and nurses information. And I suddenly say, you can go to him for a while. Here’s overshoes, here’s a Bathrobe. The husband is connected to the ventilator, yet can not, but the operation went well. Then I just stood next to him with half an hour somewhere, held his hand. And when he came home, it was a feeling that we talked.
“I wanted to say to his family: I’m alive!»