TABLE 2.
Additional representative quotes within the themes.
| Theme | Representative quotes |
|---|---|
| The arduous path back to living | «I was so exhausted after showering that I could barely towel myself dry. It’s hard to imagine, but that’s how it was.» (Rudi) |
| Surviving a suffering period of the illness | «I was traumatized as well. […] These 4 weeks in a coma left me very weak physically. […] And then came the period after the transplantation when I was in an induced coma […] When you are informed of that afterwards when you’re conscious again, that really is something that takes some time to work through. It took me a long time to regain my strength, it went on for 2 years for sure.» (Lara) |
| The joy of being given the gift of a second life | «Even now there are limits to what I can do because I just don’t have the stamina or the strength.» (Katja) |
| «I have to plan ahead if I want to go somewhere: What will I be doing the following day? If I do whatever it is, will I be too tired to manage to go to work the next day?» (Marlene) | |
| A pleasurable new phase of life | «After the transplantation things slowly got better, but it took a while for hunger pangs to return to normal. But after that I was really ravenously hungry […] I had the feeling that I had to make up for everything I had missed in the previous months.» (Marlene) |
| Experiencing a sudden, unexplainable weight gain | «Eating should be a pleasure» (Hans) |
| To finally look healthy again | «Before my transplantation, I had to take my temperature every day, weigh myself, and measure my blood pressure. I’m still a bit traumatized. I’m done with scales.» (Lara) |
| «Ate too much? Lounged around too much? No idea, I don’t know. […] All of a sudden it was more. There’s no accounting for it.» (Margret) | |
| «I haven’t felt this good in ages.» (Angelo) | |
| «They (family) accept me the way I am and are glad that I’m healthy. That’s what’s most important to them.» (Marlene) | |
| I am allowed to look like this now | «I get too little exercise, it’s true. Sometimes because I also have a nap in the afternoon, even in nice weather. I’m not making excuses, that’s just how it is.» (Joe) |
| Body weight becomes a source of stress | «I feel better and everything is back to working the way it should.» (Katja) |
| Losing weight requires the right headspace | «I’m at a standstill with my weight, basically 10 kg overweight. It’s apparent to me that it puts a great strain on me. And it enrages me because there’s nothing I can do about it. […] But I can’t change anything about it. And that’s what makes me kind of sad and crazy at the same time.» (Lara) |
| All attempts to lose weight fail | «Whenever I was at the hospital (for a follow-up), they said: Oh, you’ve put on weight, that’s good. And then suddenly it was: Stop, no more! You really have to watch your weight now! Oh, okay. Now what am I supposed to do: eat or not eat? Yeah, that was pretty stupid.» (Valérie) |
| «(It doesn’t bother me that I) am a bit overweight. That’s just how it is. No, I have to look like this. […] They (the family) see me as an individual and not as an overweight person. They say: You’re still here. Never mind.» (Valérie) |