What is it like to be in Intensive Care Unit (ICU)?

 29 January 2021

What is it like to be in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the well-known super-speciality hospital? Most of my impressions of the ICUs are those images of Covid19 patients with so many medical gadgets in recent times on foreign TVs, and also of Indian hero or heroine being filmed with so many medical gadgets showing graphs or curves; and hero or heroine putting up a heroic fight to survive. Fortunately, I or my nears or dears did not have to be in ICUs, although we have had our share of visits to hospitals or being hospitalised for one or another ailment in the past.

So, when my total knee replacement was planned, the surgeon informed me that I will be kept for a day in the ICU after surgery as per protocol. I told him that this is not the kind of emergency surgery, and I, being relatively healthy, may not need to be in the ICU. But hospitals have their own ways of taking care of patients and I fell in line with their protocol.

After bilateral total knee replacement, my wife visited me briefly after six hours. I was transferred to the ICU as per protocol, but about 10 hours later, as beds were not available until then. I told that I am just fine, and should be transferred back to my room. But this did not help.

The ICU in the super-speciality hospital turned out to be a single large room with 6 or 8 beds. Not all beds had provisions of medical gadgets that you see in the film. Nor other patients too had something of the sort. I felt relieved that most are not in critical conditions. As per the protocol, the nurse used to take my temperature, blood pressure and oxygen level every three or four hours after surgery. Probably, once they monitored my ECG after my surgery in the ante-room of the operation theatre and so in the ICU.

Although I was in the ICU, it was not very comfortable, as I was trying to snatch some sleep at late hours of admission therein. Just one bed away was another patient who was surrounded by his attendants, 2-3 in number, as they kept talking and probably trying to keep patient awake. I am not sure as to how these attendants were allowed in the ICU, but one person was seating on a comfortable chair brought from outside and appeared to be a staff member. I tried my best to convey that they are disturbing me, and my efforts to sleep. My efforts did not bear any fruits. I am not sure of reaction of other patients. Probably, they had slept or kept looking up until sleep took over. Here is a contrast that one patient was trying to sleep and another was being cajoled to remain awake.

I am not sure as to when I slept. As I did not enter into sound sleep, frequent visits of nurses over-dressed in view of winter times as well as corona fears was felt once a while. I woke up on the morning, had my breakfast and visit of doctors. Soon after, I was transferred to my room in the hospital. I am glad that the ICU experience was eventful for me in a sense that I too came out victorious for my ailment and felt joys of first to be seen by my beloved.

As I moved out, I felt that the hospitals tried subtly their best to inflate your medical bills, and that was a bitter after-thought.



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