Table III.

Themes and subthemes with corresponding quotes.

Theme	Subtheme	Golden quotes
Pain and fatigue limited performance of daily activities	Adapting daily activities because of fatigue	“That’s what irritates me, I get tired too early. I am not used to that—to being tired” (J, line 444)
	Pain that limits	“I try to keep it (pain) down with painkillers and by walking around and moving and so on. But now I’ve not been moving around much because I’ve been feeling bad—it’s a vicious circle alright” (F, lines 321–323)
	Uncertainty concerning rehabilitation	“But it’s very overwhelming, all those things that are going to happen - so you’re going to have rehabilitation? yes, I am and then I don’t really say anything else” (H, lines 382–383)
Frustrations and concerns	Uncertainty characterizes everyday life	“Most of it is the psychological part—why has this happened and can it happen again, and does it mean that I should not be alone too much? Does this mean that I should not go skiing anymore? I’ve done this alone because my wife is not a skier. But should I stop that because something could happen?”(K, lines 184–187)
	The time while waiting	“It (the health condition) comes back every time, I think. Now, I hope that they will figure something out soon. The doctor was not sure and she said “before you have a diagnosis I cannot begin to treat you”, and she could not find a diagnosis” (F, lines 278–281)
The importance of being involved and listened to during admission	The health professionals’	“And he admitted me to the hospital and that was also okay. But if they had all known what they should know, right…….. and it’s often the case with doctors—A doesn’t know what B has said” (J, lines 92–93)
	participation in medical review	“I talked to a doctor, but it was in the evening the first day; actually, it was about 23:30 in the evening—I was simply so tired, I had been up before 6 and had slept badly the night before …. There were some things I was asked about that I really didn’t get around. I see that, I really see that today” (G, lines 29–32)
The importance of being prepared for being discharged	Being discharged	“Well, I did not feel so good about it (being discharged), because I was still in pain and all and I thought that it was a waste of time that I had come (to the hospital)” (A, lines 150–151)
	Information	“It would be nice to get something in writing. That’s always nice, so you can return to it. You can’t do that when it is oral. That’s what I say, you should be two instead of one. But if you are alone, you can get in doubt about what it was. It is very different if you get it in writing—then you can go back” (G, lines 316 to 319)