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In Their Corner logo IN THEIR CORNER
A Family Guide to the ICU
In official collaboration with Mount Sinai South Nassau

Made by a family that has been here

Every patient needs someone in their corner.

Right now, that someone is you. In Their Corner is a free guide for families with a loved one in the intensive care unit. It walks you through what you are seeing, who is caring for your person, and how to speak up for the one you love.

Get the free guide Walk the room in 3D Try the ICU monitor
16pages
6interactive tools
2live 3D models
43conditions A to Z
$0forever
In Their Corner heart and heartbeat logo
IN THEIR CORNER
A Family Guide to the ICU
10+
ICU nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau reviewed it
100% Free
For every family, always
6 Panels
Of plain, practical guidance
5 Questions
Ready to ask at rounds
Made by a family that has been here Free, no ads, no accounts Plain words, no medical background needed Not medical advice, always follow your care team
Reviewed by the unit itself

Read and reviewed at Mount Sinai South Nassau.

This guide did not stay a family project. In Their Corner is now developed in official collaboration with Mount Sinai South Nassau, and the full guide has been reviewed by more than ten ICU nurses there, along with the head of the intensive care unit. The people who live in these rooms every shift read every page.

10+ICU nurse reviewers
1Head of the ICU
16Pages reviewed
About the collaboration
Mount Sinai Health System logo

In official collaboration with Mount Sinai South Nassau. The Mount Sinai name and logo are trademarks of their owner.

How can we help right now?

Start with the sentence that sounds like you.

My person was just admitted. What am I looking at?Walk through a real 3D ICU room before you walk into the real one→ What do all these numbers on the monitor mean?A working practice monitor that teaches you every color→ I have a question and I do not know who to ask.Match any worry to the right member of the care team→ A doctor said a word I have never heard.Conditions A to Z, in plain language→ I am a brother or a sister and I do not know what to do.A whole section written just for siblings→ Just send me the guide.The full printed trifold, free, to your email→

The first days, mapped

What to expect, from the first hour to going home.

Every ICU stay is different, but the shape of the first days is more predictable than it feels. Here is the honest version.

Stage 1

The first hour

The team stabilizes first and explains second. The room is loud and full of people. Your only job is to be reachable. Learn the room when you are ready.

 Stage 2

The first day

Learn your nurse's name. Pick one person to send family updates. Start the notebook, even if the first page is just the date and three words.

 Stage 3

The first week

Rounds happen every morning. Bring the five questions. Track small changes. Eat real meals and step outside once a day, even for ten minutes.

 Stage 4

Going home

Recovery does not end at the ICU door. Ask the case manager about rehab early, and know that hard memories after are normal, and talking about them is strength.

Something to do with your hands

Your first 24 hours, as a checklist.

When everything feels out of your control, small completed tasks help. Check these off as you go. Nothing saves, nothing tracks you, and there is no wrong order.

0 of 6 done

What is inside

The ICU is confusing. This guide is not.

The guide covers four things every family needs on day one. Each one gets its own section, written in plain words, with no medical background required.

📟

What the monitors mean

Every row on the bedside monitor is one measurement, and the colors change from hospital to hospital, so we teach the labels instead: ECG is the heart, SpO2 is oxygen, ART is blood pressure, RESP is breathing.

Explore the monitor
🩺

Who is on the care team

Many people move through an ICU room, and every one of them has a role. Knowing who is who tells you exactly where to bring each question.

Meet the team
📓

How to advocate

Your person cannot speak for themselves right now, so someone should always be speaking for them. That someone is you. We give you the questions and the notebook to do it.

Learn to advocate
💛

Support for siblings and you

Some family members cannot stay in the room. Some cannot leave it. Neither is wrong. The guide has a whole section for brothers, sisters, and taking care of yourself.

Read the tips

Why this guide exists

It started with a notebook beside a hospital bed.

During my older brother's weeks in an intensive care unit, I kept a notebook at his bedside: medications, numbers, small changes, and the questions I was too afraid to ask out loud. That notebook taught me the lesson this whole project is built on.

My brother is still fighting his way back in rehab, and the notebook is still going. It became a lesson, and the lesson became this guide.

Read the full story
Caroline Woram, founder of In Their Corner

Learn by doing

Two interactive tools, built for families

Reading about the ICU is one thing. Practicing before you walk in is another. Both tools are free and work on your phone.

🔄

Flip-card guide

Every role on the care team, every question for rounds, and every sibling tip lives on a card you can flip. Tap the front to see the answer on the back. It works like flashcards, because that is the fastest way to learn something new under stress.

Open the flip cards
🖥️

Interactive ICU monitor

A full bedside monitor with live waveforms for heart rate, oxygen, blood pressure, breathing, and more. Hover over any vital and it tells you what the number means, what range the team usually wants, and what to do when an alarm sounds.

Try the monitor
Learn it before you live it

Ten thousand beats a day. Now you can read every one.

The ECG line on that monitor is a language, and families are never taught to read it. Our tools change that. The pulse you see here is the same shape drawn on every screen in every unit: the small wave, the sharp spike, the recovery. By the time you leave this site, that shape will mean something to you, whatever color your hospital draws it in.

Learn the monitor

A mother and daughter smiling together
Built by a family, not a company

No ads. No accounts. No cost, ever.

In Their Corner is one family handing its notebook to the next. Every page is free, nothing tracks you, and nothing here will ever try to sell you anything. On the worst week of your life, the last thing you need is a paywall.

Get the free guide

A father carrying his son on his shoulders
Being in someone's corner starts long before a hospital and lasts long after.

Who this is for

For every person standing beside the bed.

Parents, partners, brothers, sisters, grandparents, best friends. If someone you love is in an intensive care unit, this guide was written for you. It does not require any medical background. It does not talk down to you. It just hands you what our family wishes someone had handed us on day one.

And if you are the person who cannot stay in the room, this is for you too. There is no wrong way to love someone through this.

Read the guide online Test what you know

Hospital collaboration

In official collaboration with Mount Sinai South Nassau

In Their Corner was written for the kind of unit where my family lived for weeks. Today the project is developed in official collaboration with Mount Sinai South Nassau on Long Island. The full guide has been read and reviewed by more than ten ICU nurses there, along with the head of the intensive care unit, so the words families receive are the words the unit stands behind.

From here, we want to bring the guide to more hospitals, one unit at a time. If you work at a hospital and want the guide in your unit, we would love to hear from you.

About the partnership
In Their Corner logo

Quick answers

Questions families ask us most.

Yes, completely. No accounts, no ads, no email required, and nothing here will ever try to sell you anything. The printed trifold and every tool on this site are free for every family, always.

The full guide was read and reviewed by more than ten ICU nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau, along with the head of the intensive care unit, as part of our official collaboration with the hospital. It is still not medical advice, and your care team's word always comes first.

Yes. The machines, the care team roles, and the advocacy tools are the same across adult ICUs. Targets and details differ patient to patient, which is exactly why the guide teaches you to ask the team about your person's specific ranges.

Please do. Print the trifold, fold it, and keep it in your bag, or keep it open on your phone. It was designed to sit next to the notebook at the bedside.

Email us through the partnership page. The guide is free for hospitals too, and we will work with your team on any changes your unit needs before it goes in the waiting room.

Follow along

In Their Corner on Instagram

Guide updates, new resources, and where to find the trifold.

@intheircornerproject
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Free, always

This is the actual guide.

Both sides of the real printed trifold, exactly as it comes off the printer. One click away, free, no email required. Print it, fold it, and bring it to the hospital. Or keep it on your phone.

Get the guide
Front side of the printed In Their Corner trifold guide
Side one
Back side of the printed In Their Corner trifold guide
Side two
The free ICU family guideGet it