Going Home

You or your family/whānau member may have been seriously unwell, and the body and mind need time to get better. You or your family/whānau member may experience the following physical symptoms upon returning home:

• General to extreme weakness and fatigue

• Breathlessness

• General body aches or pains

• Difficulty moving around or sleeping

• Weight loss, lack of appetite, food not tasting the way it used to

• Dry and itchy skin that may peel

• Brittle nails and teeth

• Brittle hair and hair loss

• Dizziness and/or headaches

• Change in vision

• Dislike or intolerance for very bright, noisy, or crowded spaces

• Sensitivity to temperature (feeling very cold or sweating)

• Repeated infections

It is also not unusual to have the following feelings once home:

• Mood swings – feeling “snappy”, irritable, angry or upset

• A lack of confidence or self-belief

• Not caring about your appearance

• Wanting to be alone, avoiding friends and family

• Flashbacks or bad memories

• Confusing reality (not sure what is real and what isn’t)

• Feeling anxious, more worried than usual

• Poor concentration

• Depressed, angry, unmotivated

• Frustration at not being able to do everyday tasks

• Guilt for the stress and worry everyone experienced, or that you survived

• Feeling that nobody understands how you may be feeling

During your recovery you or your family/whānau member may experience some or all of the problems listed, while looking relatively well to the outside world. If it has been some time since you or your family/whānau member developed sepsis, people may expect you/them to be fully recovered. This can make people recovering from sepsis feel very alone and even start to doubt themselves, or wonder if they are imagining all these problems.