Take a Deep Breath of Fresh Air with Every Deep-Drawn Breath

Mark Shontz: After spending 48 days in ICU, 25 days in a "rehab hospital", whose goal was to get me off a ventilator, then back to ICU for 19 days... this book helped me understand my stays in ICU and the importance of my family and friends in my recovery. Also understanding the ventilator and how lucky I am not to have any long term damage. due to my excellent doctors in ICU. It was also so encouraging to hear from a physicians perspective, always learning and not afraid to ask questions to improve the quality of care!

United States on Jan 07, 2024

Daphne: Every Deep Drawn Breath

Along with Verghese, Gawandi, and Kalanithi, Wes Ely has given yet another glimpse into the humility and courage of a contemporary physician seeking truth. There are two themes to this story. One of a dedicated physician coming to grips with his own understanding of healing, the other, the cold realities of surviving life threatening illness.

Dr. Ely reviews interesting historical facts of how ICU care evolved. He takes us through his personal journey as a trainee then attending physician. Then we go with him to the other side of the bed, the side of a father whose daughter experiences a life threatening fall and traumatic brain injury. That, and his caring enough about the patients he treats, brings him to a new place of reflection. This place is a sobering reality check that alters his professional goals and that puts him in the position of a maverick.

From there Dr. Ely relies on science to make his point. It all boils down to the patient as a person, not a set of lungs, an overwhelming infection, or a metastatic cancer. From his, and many collaborating colleagues’ investigations, evolves a new way critically ill patients are cared...

United States on Nov 10, 2023

Marisa Brochowicz: “Within ICUs, patients on the brink of death are cared for in well over one hundred thousand intensive care beds each day, in around three thousand hospitals around the country.” This is one of the many harrowing statistics that Dr. Wes Ely provides his readers with in his abundantly intriguing book, Every Deep Drawn Breath. From real patient cases to the history of present-day medical practices, and more, Dr. Ely covers an wide variety of topics regarding critical care and what it means to be an excellent caregiver to patients in the hospital.

A very large portion of this book revolves around the PICS phenomenon. PICS is an acronym for Post Intensive Care Syndrome, something that I, as a clinician, along with many of my colleagues, hadn’t heard about before reading this book. Ely describes PICS as “a debilitating condition composed of ‘neck-up’ brain problems and ‘neck down’ body problems that survivors of critical illness often experience after a stay in the ICU.” Dr. Ely believes that PICS is the result of heavy sedation given to patients in the ICU. Throughout his research, Ely proved that sedation causes what he refers to as “ICU delirium.” He and...

United States on Mar 17, 2023

Barbara Egan: 'Every Deep Drawn Breath' is a raw yet heartening read. I believe anyone who comes in contact with an ICU patient would benefit from reading this book. Dr Ely implores the medical profession to draw from their humanity along as their medical skills, to see the patient as a person, and to consider that critical illness rehabilitation needs to begin in the ICU. He shows us by considering best practice the critically ill have a fighting chance to regain autonomy. I am forever grateful for those ICU professionals who saved my life many years ago. However we cannot step back into our lives without acknowledgement of the struggle and the offer of support. Barbara Egan

United Kingdom on Dec 21, 2022

Iggy: In this world where virtually every corner of the globe has been explored, the journey now being shared with us by disciplines including neuroscience, medicine, psychology and spirituality into the human brain is every bit as important as the first explorers to new shores. Authors like Dr.Ely are our 'wilderness wayfinders,' using his knowledge, experience and compassion to take us ito this important -- maybe MOST important - destination. So grateful to have found this book for my own work.

Canada on Jul 03, 2022

Kate Costelloe.: A pleasure to read and be privy to the blossoming of a Doctor’s awakening to his patients lives and the changes he recognized were needed to be a true partner I their recovery. Excellent!!!

Canada on Nov 17, 2021

Jose MarioJose Mario: Doctor Wes writes a unique book, with
stories that affected me deeply. I highly recommend this outstanding book.

Brazil on Oct 08, 2021