I am always hearing about this of humanizing the ICU but until tonight I didn’t know what was.

Yesterday, I had to go for my work to ask for the situation of a person admitted in the ICU of La Paz in Madrid.

When I left the elevator it seemed to me that I was on the 200th floor more than in the first. I am used to see emergency room and the difference from one site to another impressed me.

The first thing was the silence there, only breaking by the cries of relatives waiting in the waiting room.

When a nurse opened me the door to come into the ICU, I totally understood what HUMANIZING INTENSIVE CARE means.

It looked like the anteroom of Life or Death. I watched people intubated and plugged into machines that kept them with life as they could. It was as if at any time any of those who were there could die. That was another higher level  that “the first floor”, it seemed that was at a point between sky and land.

My colleague looked at me and said: “Our work is very hard sometimes, but I would not be in the shoes of those who work here.”

The ICU Staff also seemed to belong to another hospital, all with a careful silence, even on their faces seemed more calm than elsewhere despite what is palpable you feel they see day by day.

From that time I felt a great admiration by all of them and that is why I decided to write these words.

To say thank you by being not only great professional, but some wonderful people who save lives.

By Kike Tomé