@snetterpie I am so happy you found this amazing group of people who also happen to be ICU survivors. What you are experiencing is so real, and you are definitely not alone in this experience. On a personal note, my son experienced a life threatening asthma attack 4 years ago at the age of 5. To this day when I hear someone in distress say "I can't breathe" it automatically triggers panic in me and I can't help but shake. This is just such a human response to perceived threat.

I hope you have found help in this space. Support groups and conversations with others who have experienced similar things can be incredibly helpful for recovery. However sometimes people need more guidance during their recovery time - and recovery doesn't have a time limit. For some it's days to weeks. For others it can be years. When this is the case post ICU follow up clinics, where you can connect with experts focused on critical illness recovery, can be key to the next step in recovery.

If you are interested in more information regarding this, please send an email to: mayopostICU@mayo.edu