'They were trying to drag me out of the bed': Man recalls 'strange encounters' in ICU after open-heart surgery

It's probably safe to say the intensive care unit (ICU) is a place most of us hope to never land in.

One former patient shared his uncomfortable two-day experience in an ICU ward at a local hospital following his open-heart surgery — but not for reasons you might expect.

"Every night I'd get 'people' visiting me by my bed," TikTok user Vinnography shared of the ordeal.

Vinnography had stated in other videos that he was diagnosed with a heart condition known as severe mitral regurgitation back in 2020 and underwent the operation back in February.

According to him, the visitations only happened at night, and these visitors were "dressed in patients' uniforms", and were of various ages and races.

"They were all just crowding around my feet, trying to drag me out of the bed," he described.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@vinnography/video/7175115139765570818?[/embed]

Vinnography also remembers being "transported to various scenes" in random places. They included a scene where he was brought to a zombie-infested ship as well as one where he rode in a Land Rover with a female ranger in Africa.

In another instance, he recounted workers trying to talk to him in a darkened stairwell. Each time, Vinnography shared that he struggled to wake up, forcing himself to open his eyes after realising that he was dreaming.

"And whenever I opened my eyes I would see tonnes of people crowding around my bed, just trying to pull me up, asking me to go and play with them," he shared of the relentless disturbances he experienced throughout the two nights.

"It's really scary," he shared, adding that the dreams stopped after he was moved to a regular ward and he was able to sleep better.

"I'm not sure if it's because it's in the ICU that I have all these weird dreams, or I'm not sure if it's because of the aftermath of the heart surgery that caused me to hallucinate, but I'm thankful that it's over."

While his sharing gave some commenters goosebumps, others pointed out that nightmares and hallucinations are a common side effect after a major operation and assured him that "it's normal".

According to a doctor cited by the British Heart Foundation, hallucinations are "very common" in the early days after major surgery, where up to 40 per cent of patients may experience hallucinations or delirium.

Scientists shared that these hallucinations may be linked to the inflammatory response in the body after heart surgery, said Dr Ben Gibbison, and may be made worse by more complex surgeries that take a longer time due to the amount of anesthetic required. 

Other users also shared their own "encounters", and not always after surgery.

So, paranormal or just normal? You decide.

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candicecai@asiaone.com