Recovery from critical illness is often a long and slow process. To begin with, patients may not feel up to reading this information, so if you are a relative or friend, please pass it on when the patient is ready.
One of the scariest things about having a critical illness is not knowing what’s going to happen. This guide can’t answer all your questions, but it will answer many of them. It will try to tell you what may happen and where you can find out more information.
Each section covers a different stage of the process of treatment and recovery. You can read it all in one go, or you can just read each section when you need to.
This guide is produced by ICUsteps, a charity that supports intensive care patients. It has been written by people who have either been treated in an intensive care unit or are close relatives or friends of someone who has. It has also been reviewed by a wide variety of intensive care professionals.