re: #97 goddamnedfrank

Thanks for introducing the pump head phenomenon to me. Something like it also affects those who have been mechanically ventilated, which I was for 4 or 5 days. I was lucky to have a stay in a rehab hospital after the ICU.

The medical miracles that today’s hospitals can deliver for patients with life-threatening illnesses and injuries often exact a huge price. There are the known and expected financial costs, but there are also long-term, often life-altering, physical, cognitive and mental impairments for the patients who survive their acute episode.

These are more likely the longer a patient is in hospital and most commonly associated with intensive care episodes, especially for patients who undergo mechanical ventilation. They are under-recognised and under-diagnosed, leaving patients, their families and often their doctors struggling to understand and address the issues that subsequently arise.

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