With @BorisJohnson being admitted to #intensivecare, it’s a good time to reflect on what an admission to hospital with #COVID19 symptoms could mean for you.

This is based on my personal experiences as an Intensive Care Consultant, caring for many #COVID19 patients [1/n]

If you need hospital, you are in the ~10% of people with more severe symptoms. You will likely be cared for in an acute ward, together with other patients with similar symptoms. You are likely to need additional oxygen, given either up your nose, or through a face mask. [2/n]

Lets say this isn’t enough, and over a 24 hour period the amount of oxygen you are needing has gone up and up. You are now on 60% oxygen given through a face mask, but that doesn’t seem to be enough. You are in the roughly 25% of hospital patients who need Intensive Care. [3/n]

The risks, painful interventions, complications and distress, is balanced against the prospect of recovery. The doctors decide, in combination with you and your wishes and beliefs, that admission to Intensive Care is appropriate. [4/n]

In ICU you are given oxygen differently. Either through a tight fitting mask, or high-flow up your nose. This is an aerosol-generating procedure and staff are now at much higher risk of catching #COVID19 from you. They are dressed in frightening-looking protective clothing [5/n]

A line is inserted into an artery in your wrist. This allows the team to closely monitor the amount of oxygen going around your body. [6/n]

Some patients will not need any more oxygen than this, and over a several days will gradually start to recover. Unfortunately, your oxygen need is still rising. You are now on 80% oxygen. [7/n]

The team needs to send you off to sleep to put a breathing tube down into your lungs to take over your breathing via a ventilator. They know you are now more likely to die than to survive. You text your partner. You don’t know if you’ll ever do that again. [8/n]

You start to emerge from the haze 10 days later. Its another 3 days before you are able to breath strongly enough on your own. You are weak. Very very weak. [9/n]

Over the next week or so you start to gradually get more strength back. You still need a lot of help for very basic tasks. You are doing well enough that you are discharged to a normal ward. [10/n]

A week later and you are back at home. You still aren’t quite yourself. They have arranged some help for you at home now. The nightmares stay with you. But you survived. [11/11]