COVID‐19 and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: experiences as a patient, general practitioner, wife and mother

Gupta, A.

I contracted SARS‐CoV‐2 early in the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK and, following nine days of mechanical ventilation, was one of the first few patients to be accepted for venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. I remained in hospital for 150 days, 34 of which I spent with full extracorporeal respiratory support. I have no recollection of my time on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, but liberation from it was not the end of my story; I had to overcome numerous physical and mental challenges during recovery and rehabilitation. I hope my story is read by others who are recovering from COVID‐19 or critical illness more generally, and that it provides hope that the challenges of rehabilitation can be overcome. This reflection is a personal view of my illness as a patient. In it, I focus upon the aspects of my care that I can remember, predominantly around the time I became unwell but also during the recovery and rehabilitation period, which remains ongoing despite my discharge from hospital and subsequent return to work as a general practitioner.