Body
Weakness, fatigue, and difficulty with everyday activities.
For survivors. For families. For life after.
Survival is only the beginning.
Leaving the ICU is a milestone. Finding your way forward is a journey. You deserve understanding, connection, and support along the way.
Orlando Walk 4 PICS · September 26, 2026 · Blue Jacket Park
Walk with us →A name for what comes next
The hospital stay ends.
The impact can continue.
Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) describes new or worsening difficulties with physical health, thinking, or mental health following critical illness.
Mind
Problems with memory, attention, or organizing tasks.
Emotional health
Anxiety, depression, or symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Source: CIBS Center’s guide to PICS
Understand the effects of critical illness →The need is real
Invisible challenges.
Real lives.
Recovery does not look the same for everyone. Recognizing these challenges is a step toward getting support.
30–50%
of ICU survivors experience cognitive impairment, according to the CIBS Center.
Up to 1 in 3
ICU survivors experience depression and anxiety, according to the center’s educational overview.
3 areas
Physical, cognitive, and mental health can each be affected after critical illness.
These are educational estimates, not a prediction for any individual. Rates vary by population, definition, and follow-up period; the overview does not assign these estimates one follow-up time. Categories can overlap.
Read the source: CIBS Center · Post-Intensive Care SyndromeConnection is part of the journey
You don’t have to
navigate this alone.
Find organizations, survivor stories, educational guides, and support for families. Start with the kind of help you need today.
Free · Weekly · Peer-led
Florida PICS Survivor & Co-Survivor Support Group
A community for life after intensive care, here in Florida and beyond.
Connect with people who understand the ICU experience and the work of recovery. Our peer-led group brings together survivors, family members, caregivers, and loved ones affected by critical illness for shared experiences, questions, resources, and mutual support.
- First meeting
- Ongoing meetings
- Every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern
- Where & cost
- Online via Zoom · Free to participate
Contact Michael for participation information and meeting access. Access details are shared individually to support participant privacy.
Why we created it
Michael’s experience as an ICU survivor showed him how valuable it can be to find people who understand life after critical illness. He created this group to help survivors and co-survivors connect, share what they are navigating, and build a stronger community around post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) and its impact on families (PICS-F).
Florida is our starting point. People outside the state seeking connection and support are welcome, too.
What we hope to accomplish
- Help survivors and co-survivors feel heard and connected through shared experience.
- Exchange practical resources and questions about life after intensive care.
- Raise awareness of PICS and PICS-F through education and conversation.
- Build connections among survivors, families, healthcare professionals, researchers, advocates, and community partners.
What to expect
Meetings offer introductions, open conversation, resource sharing, and opportunities to help shape future discussions. Members are asked to respect one another’s privacy and share only what they feel comfortable sharing.
This is a peer-support community. For psychotherapy, medical treatment, or crisis care, please contact an appropriate qualified provider or service.
Survival, in the survivor’s words
The Life After Trilogy
In I See U and I Hear U, Michael Paul Patrick shares the experience of critical illness and the complicated life that follows it.
I Know U, a memoir of acceptance and identity, is coming soon.
Coming : Still Critical, a poetry collection about life after discharge and PICS.
Explore Still Critical →
In the public eye
PICS in the Media
Watch Michael’s American Thoracic Society Patient Voices interview, explore our WFTV coverage, and discover survivor stories, PICS advocacy, and research on recovery after critical illness.
New education & resources
Understanding delirium and ICU care
Explore our delirium guide and resources from the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American Delirium Society, including patient guides, family tools, and research.
Our initiative
A bridge between
surviving and living.
The Life After ICU Initiative raises awareness of post-intensive care syndrome and connects survivors and their loved ones with information, community, and shared experience.
Through advocacy, Michael Paul Patrick’s survival memoirs, and local connections like the Orlando Walk 4 PICS, we help make life after critical illness more visible.
You are not broken. You are not alone.
Meet Michael, our founder →Support life after critical illness
Ways to Donate & Help
Help sustain the organizations working to support survivors, families, and the future of critical illness recovery.
ARDS Alliance
Support patient programs, research, and medical education for people affected by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
CIBS Survivorship Endowment
Support the CIBS Center’s survivorship research, education, and resources for people recovering from critical illness and their families.
Donations are completed on external giving pages and handled by the receiving organization and its payment provider. Please confirm the recipient and fund before submitting your gift. If a donation link is unavailable, use the organization’s information page above to find its current giving options.