Silenced: Looking for My Writing Voice
Four months ago in the ICU, I looked at the retreating figure of the respiratory therapist and wondered if I’d ever be able to write again. They’d talked to me about the process of weaning off the trach. In a completely reasonable and diligent fashion, they went through what normally happens, and the rarer cases,…
3 Months after the ICU: A Surreal Normal
Every time I wash my hands or brush my teeth I see it in my washroom mirror. The line at the base of my throat, a barely-there horizontal divot that is the only visual reminder of my medical adventure. It jolts me every time, bringing back a moment of memory so intense that for a…
Numb Hands and Dragon Scales: Coping with a Traumatic Health Experience
It is still with me. The ICU experience, the hospital stay, the surreal fact that I was so very sick, that I came so close to death. It colours part of every day and I suspect it will continue to do so for some time to come. Trauma sticks around. At first, I thought I…
10 Things about What It Is Like To Be On a Ventilator
Updated December 6, 2020 Trigger warning: this post is about medical trauma. This post is a look at the experience of being on a ventilator from the point of view of the person on the receiving end of the tube. This happened when I had complications to the flu and ended up in the ICU.(side…
I Survived the ICU
Trigger warning: Medical trauma So, where was I? The last time I posted, I had the flu and was pretty miserable. It was the precursor to a roller coaster ride into a very dark place. The flu turned into pneumonia, which sent me to the hospital in the middle of March. There was a trip…
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