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Over a period of some days you were gradually weaned off ventilation.

You need lungs to breath. When we breathe in, oxygen enters the lungs and accumulates in the blood. This blood then flows to the heart. The heart then pumps the oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. All of the organs are supplied with oxygen as a result.

You have been ventilated so that enough oxygen gets into your body. For ventilation purposes, a tube is often inserted into the trachea (windpipe). The tube is connected to a ventilation device. This device initially does all of the normal breathing work. To do so, the device blows oxygen-rich air into the lungs at a defined rhythm. If someone is breathing semi-independently, the ventilation device can even support the individual breaths. When a breath begins, the device reacts and blows air into the lungs to help.

To wean someone off it, the ventilation device gradually provides less assistance. If the weaning off process is successful, the person can then breathe independently once more. During this period you were looked after by medical personnel who are specially trained to wean people off ventilation.