Joseph Masterson, a 63-year-old Pittsburgh lawyer, went into cardiac arrest while driving last November. Other motorists pulled him from the wreck, and firefighters kept his heart beating until he reached UPMC Mercy. He spent 18 days in intensive care—14 on a ventilator—developing delirium and losing significant weight. When he went home in February, family support and rounds of physical, speech and occupational therapy helped him relearn basic tasks, from walking without a cane to making a sandwich. His speech has improved, but memory lapses and depression persist. Screening tests flagged cognitive deficits, and he still can’t use a microwave or remember recent conversations. Post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, affects over half of the five million Americans admitted to ICUs each year. It brings physical weakness, pain and malnutrition alongside anxiety, depression and cognitive problems like poor memory and attention. Sedation, prolonged bed rest and constant noise in the ICU fuel delirium and muscle loss. Patients describe vivid hallucinations, PTSD-like trauma and the shock of losing their bodies’ strength. Older adults face even greater risk: a study of those over 70 found only half regained pre-ICU function within six months. A growing number of hospitals—around 35 so far—now run post-ICU recovery clinics. Multidisciplinary teams use lighter sedation protocols, early mobilization, daily breathing tests and open family visiting to curb PICS symptoms. Clinics offer physical rehab, cognitive therapy, social work support and patient diaries to help process ICU memories. They also guide patients through advance-care decisions, since many survivors rethink their willingness to undergo aggressive treatment again. Masterson’s prior fitness and sharp legal mind give his doctors reason to expect steady gains, but he and his family are taking recovery one day at a time.