Table 2. Representative Quotes for Theme 1: Difficulty in Building a Distance Relationship With the ICU Clinicians and the Experience of Solitude.

Quote No.	Subtheme	Interview No.
Building a relationship over the telephone
1	“It was a contract that was made between the team and me: they had warned me from the start that they would call me every day at around 4 pm to check on my wife’s health.… It was a landmark for me.”	10
2	“They didn’t call back, we had to call back every time.… You can’t just leave people like that in ignorance, with their heart beating, their legs shaking, waiting for the phone call that will say that. Well, you can’t do that. It’s inhuman to do that.”	7
3	“We were in need of explanations, I can tell you. Because my husband went to the hospital on his 2 feet, although he wasn’t in good shape. Then it was just a nightmare, with no explanations.… So, then, they did take some time to help us understand, but it was too late. For me, it was too late. I didn’t trust them anymore.”	17
4	“The doctor called every day, but I didn’t get a feeling of how my husband was really doing. It was only technical information.”	14
5	“They really understood me, they showed empathy. They said, ‘We know it’s hard for you. This is a difficult situation. We’re doing the best we can with so many patients, but we know how you’ve waited for this call, so we want to take the time to explain and discuss things with you.’”	11
6	“The tone of the voice who says it, the way the subject is broached, that’s what’s important.”	12
Suspended in time and space by new rules
7	“What was very brutal was that it was during the lockdown, and my brother and I were very, very alone. It was a very special time; we really were all alone.… Yes, we felt terribly isolated.”	15
8	“It was like being in a film, I didn’t understand what was going on. What’s this story? How can it be possible that he’s gone? How did he die? Really, even today, I just don’t understand.”	9
9	“It was an absolute nightmare, I was living to the rhythm of the ICU phone calls, with ups and downs because there was this Monday when things were going rather well, and then the next day when we were told it wasn’t going well.… It was awful, just awful.”	15
Meeting the ICU team
10	“I felt comforted to see that he was really being looked after, he was fine and to actually see that reassured me. I think we were lucky that he was cared for by such competent people.”	11
11	“When I was there, I felt that my mother wasn’t just another patient, she was Mrs D. I felt that the nurse had a lot of empathy.”	13
12	“We went from black to white, because clearly, when on Friday we were told, ‘We’ll call the police if you come,’ and on Saturday, when I did go, the nurse said ‘If you wish I can come with you [to the patient’s room], and I can stay with you if you don’t want to be alone.’… She was just perfect. I couldn't have dreamed of a better nurse.”	13

Abbreviation: ICU, intensive care unit.