Reply To: Patient on Ventilator for 10 days

Hi Barbara – its very hard to give a right answer here. Recovery/Improvement is unique to each individual and everyone recovers at a different rate. When I was diagnosed 6 years ago I was 32 so significantly younger, ventilator was not required but I was unable to walk, use my arms, hands for a number of months.

Each Neurologist I spoke with had the same message, yes if you are younger the odds of a faster recovery are in your favor but each case is unique in itself and boils down to a number of factors, it still took me 12-18 months to get back to somewhat normal. I have read and seen stories of people being ventilated for a much longer time than 12 days, sometimes weeks/months. Don’t give up hope, recovery can be painfully slow and she is still in what some would call the “acute” phase of the illness. Quoting from an online article

“weakness can take half a day to over two weeks to reach maximum severity, and then becomes steady. In one in five people, the weakness continues to progress for as long as four weeks”