Anyone who has spent some time in a hospital knows the obvious methods for passing time: read a book or magazine, do a crossword puzzle, flip the TV channels TV endlessly, or stare at the ceiling. Brief and infrequent hospital stays are not terribly difficult to handle and may even be a welcomed respite in a busy life. However, when hospital stays are a regularly occurring theme they begin to interrupt your life. They are not fun. They're full of tests, needles, waiting, and bland food. Plans always become a "maybe" instead of a "definite." Finding or keeping a job may become very difficult and feelings of loneliness and exclusion may develop. When the hospital becomes your second home, it's time to develop plans for to help make your stays a little more comfortable. The food may not change but your quality of life can.
Hospital Stay Essentials
These things will help get you through each day, but just like watching the same stand up comic tell the same jokes over and over again loses its humor after a while, an iPod and a book will lose their entertainment value over time. These are the items that you will keep ready in a special bag designated for hospital stays, so that you are never stuck just staring at the ceiling or feeling lonesome.
- mp3 player/iPod/CD player with headphones
- one or two books you've been wanting to read, or a favorite book
- notebook/sketch pad, pen/pencil
- word and puzzle games (the kind of things found in airport stores)
- changes of underwear
- a few pairs of warm socks
- toothbrush and toothpaste
- hair brush or bandanna for bed head
- lip moisturizer/lip gloss
Patience for Patients – Creative Ideas for Things to do in the Hospital
This article is meant to make hospital stays a little more pleasant, but the truth is that frequent hospital stays are rough, especially if there is no end in sight. Use the following ideas to relax and enjoy yourself by putting your mind in another place for a while.
Idea #1: This is a "what if" exercise. Imagine what your life would be like if you had been born as a different ethnicity, in another country, into another culture or religion, or as the opposite gender. Would your beliefs still be the same? Would you be judged differently? What language would you speak? For some random and entertaining "what if" ideas visit the "What If" blog.
Idea #2: If you are able to type and have an internet connection, start a blog. Maybe you do not have an internet connection. Starting a blog is still possible, it will just go through the beginning stages the old-fashioned way, on pen and paper. This blog can relate your hospital experience. What are you feeling? Why are you there? How do you feel now compared to how you did at the beginning of your hospital stays? Have you heard any funny (non-patient privacy related) conversations while lying in your hospital bed? Alternatively, your blog could be about something entirely different, maybe a hobby or current events and information on a topic in which you are very knowledgeable.
Idea #3: Write a review about your hospital experience on Yelp or another review website.
Idea #4: Draw. It doesn't matter if you're any good at it. It's relaxing and it passes the time.
Idea #5: Catch up on your favorite TV shows. You have the time and the TV is in front of you. Heck, add in a cheesy, awful show or movie that you would never admit to watching but are secretly interested in.
Idea #6: Take a little stroll through the hospital daily, if you're allowed. This is not a new idea but if you haven't taken advantage of the opportunity before, start now. It will provide a change in scenery and allow your body to move, stretch, and get a little exercise.
Idea #7: If you're at all curious, learn about the machines hooked up to you. What do they do? How do they work?
Idea #8: Educate interns. Some will welcome firsthand input on your condition with eager eyes and ears. Some may have never heard of your condition so this will be a valuable learning experience for them. You can also help these future caretakers (doctors) develop a good beside manner by letting them in on how your condition and symptoms affect your daily life. You may even make a pleasant acquaintance who ends up visiting you on occasion for a little chat.
Finally, imagine how you'll treat yourself when you get out of the hospital. Will it be an ice cream sundae, a pedicure, or just a nice, long nap in your own bed?
Melissa Logan - Melissa Logan enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Cryptologic Maintenance Technician after graduating from high school. After six years, she ...
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