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Back to life after a coma with a diary

From the left: Nurse Drahomira Sinzinger, head of the intensive care unit, senior physician Dr. Friedrich Rausch, specialist in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, patient Gottfried "Gucki" Gruber and nurse Edith Moser.

(Bild: OÖG)

Healed patients often have false memories and are unable to correctly categorize what they have experienced. At Schärding Hospital, however, notes kept by nursing staff and relatives help. A recovered patient who spent several weeks in artificial deep sleep reports how the diary helped him.

It's all about lost time: for patients who are unconscious or on artificial respiration, it is difficult to assign sounds, light sources or the many touches. Ten years ago, an intensive care diary was therefore introduced at Schärding Hospital based on models in Scandinavia and England. This is kept by nursing staff and relatives. Since then, more than 60 such diaries have been passed on to patients.

Many have false memories
"Many patients talk about memories that often don't correspond to reality. They can't put the puzzle together correctly in their heads and are confronted with the task of finding out what is real and what are misperceptions," explains graduate nurse Edith Moser, who developed the concept. In the intensive care diary, changes, setbacks and, of course, improvements in the patient's situation are described as precisely as possible, without using medical terminology.

Who receives such a diary? The target group are those patients who are in deep sleep for more than three days or are ventilated. 

Positive feedback
"The first entry is a bit more detailed. It summarizes the events that led to the patient's admission and therapy. All further entries are based on changes and developments, such as sitting on the edge of the bed for the first time. When the patient is transferred to a normal ward, the diary is handed over to them. Relatives can also write entries about their thoughts, observations and worries or tell them what has happened at home," says Moser: "Initially, we didn't know how the diaries would be received. But we soon received very positive feedback from patients and relatives. Everyone really liked the idea."

The diary is hugely important to me and so lovely to write. The whole team put so much effort into it. They were my angels!

Komapatient Gottfried „Gucki“ Gruber (68)

Patient raves about the diary
Gottfried "Gucki" Gruber (68) from Schärding was in intensive care at Schärding Hospital for almost four months in 2020 due to a serious coronavirus illness, including around seven weeks in an artificial deep sleep: "The diary is extremely important to me and so well written. The whole team put so much effort into it. They were my angels! I didn't even realize that I had been 'away' for so long. When I read this, I was shocked myself."