Wow. I developed ARDS in November 1999 after I developed sepsis from an amniocentesis. I came very very close to dying, lost the pregnancy and spent 8 days on a vent, hemorrhaged 3 times, my veins collapsed, my organs began to shut down and I had 19 pulmonary embolisms. When I was taken out of my medically induced coma, the doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago could not believe that I had survived it all. Sometimes I wonder if 25 years of being a long-distance runner had made my heart strong enough to make it through? I'll never know. Until I read your post, I haven't known anyone else who survived ARDS, and it was a lonely journey back. Many days I felt like a ghost walking through the world, acting like everything was the same but feeling completely different. Thank you for sharing your story -- I'd love to find out more about your experiences in the years since you had ARDS. Funny that we both had ARDS only weeks apart back in 1999. Susan