Surviving Discharge

What is Post-Intensive Care Syndrome—and why does it matter after you leave the hospital?

In Episode 2 of SURVIVING DISCHARGE, Michael Paul Patrick is joined by Dr. Brian Peach for a conversation about PICS and life after critical illness.

Following Michael’s personal story in the premiere, this episode gives listeners a starting point for understanding the physical, cognitive, and mental health challenges that can follow an ICU stay. Knowing the term PICS can help survivors and families put experiences into words, ask questions, and begin seeking support.

Whether you’re an ICU survivor, a family member, a healthcare professional, or someone trying to understand a loved one’s recovery, this conversation is an invitation to look beyond discharge.

Learn more about the Life After ICU Initiative and our peer-support work at https://lifeaftericu.org.

This podcast provides education and lived experience, not individual medical advice. Discuss your symptoms and treatment with a qualified healthcare professional. Peer support complements clinical care; it does not replace medical treatment or psychotherapy.

SURVIVING DISCHARGE
A Life After ICU Initiative Podcast
Building the bridge from intensive care to life after.

What helped you build your bridge?

There are days of Michael Paul Patrick’s life that everyone around him remembers except him.

In November 2024, a car accident led to cervical spine surgery. During extubation, he aspirated, developed aspiration pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and spent a week in a coma.

Then he woke up and was extubated. Only afterward did the hallucinations, nightmares, and ICU delirium begin.

In the premiere of SURVIVING DISCHARGE, Michael shares the story behind “The Week I Don’t Remember”—and what happened when surviving the hospital became the beginning of a recovery he hadn’t expected.

From profound weakness and cognitive changes to disrupted sleep, fear, and stepping away from trial practice, Michael explores how critical illness reshaped his work, relationships, and sense of self. He reflects on the experience his family remembers, finding language for Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), and writing his memoirs, I See U and I Hear U.

He also shares how survivor advocacy, Orlando’s Walk4PICS, and speaking on a Society of Critical Care Medicine panel helped shape the Life After ICU Initiative and its peer-led support work.

This is one survivor’s story, an introduction to the community behind this podcast, and an invitation to keep talking about what happens after discharge.

Next episode: What Is PICS?

Learn more about the Life After ICU Initiative and peer support at https://lifeaftericu.org.

Content note: This episode discusses critical illness, ICU delirium, hallucinations, nightmares, and emotional distress following intensive care.

This podcast shares lived experience and education, not individual medical advice. Peer support complements clinical care; it does not replace medical treatment or psychotherapy.

SURVIVING DISCHARGE
A Life After ICU Initiative Podcast
Building the bridge from intensive care to life after.

What helped you build your bridge?

Intro and closing narration done by Luulu Soul. Learn more about her at https://luulusoul.carrd.co