Ever dreaded a hospital stay?

[ContinuallyRefined]

I dreaded my first tuneup so much I put it off for years after my docs suggested it. Meanwhile my numbers kept dropping. Once I finally got in the groove they weren't as bad, just like most other major changes like accepting diabetes and needing oxygen with exercise.
I'm thinking of starting a non-profit to provide a little incentive for patients to check into the hospital when recommended but dreaded. Like a new iPad, laptop, guitar, etc.
<strong>What specific items have helped, or do you think <em>would</em> help, your hospital stays go better?</strong>

 

[ryry11]

iTunes giftcards, as I spent about $10 on games for my phone.
DVDs make the time go faster.
Scrapbook stuff, maybe? I've heard other people like to do it.
Toys for little kids (maybe special "hospital baskets" with stuff for each day?)
Magazines. I must have read 15 fashion magazines when I was in for 2.5 weeks
iPod touches
New video games or video game consoles

 

[katethekid]

I like the idea of toys for kids... And coloring books..... Some kind of music player always helps me.... And movies of course <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> I recently sold some of my collectors items just to get an iPod so I could listen to music during my treatments and hospital trips...

 

[robert321]

It seems like the older I get the more and more I dread going in for a tuneup. I always try to have some project that I can do while I am in or something to study. I hate just sitting around being nonproductive. If I don't have some sort of goal for the tuneup besides getting healthy I'll go crazy.
I don't do well with just sitting watching movies or listening to music so an itunes giftcard or dvds would be nice but offer only a short distraction. I am learning piano so if I had a good keyboard I would take it with me. Picking up guitar would also be a good idea, you can pick for hours for days on end till your fingers bleed. If I don't have something to keep my hands busy I'll go nuts.

 

[jbrandyn]

I do not think I dread stays unless they are are a really inconvienient time, but I do get stircrazy really fast, but find that finding and watching entire series on Hulu or HBO Go really makes the time pass... I guess books work as well. Does your hospital let you go out? I will meet friends in the afternoon between treatments for a couple hours and go downtown and do cheesy toursity stuff or find a nice tea shop and sit there for a couple of hours.
I don't think it's healthy to stay cooped up and just walking around with people makes me dread getting a cleanout less.

@robert321, when I was in High School I would practice music while admitted also, but it was percussion on practice pads which, as I am told, is more annoying to hear than a guitar lol.

 

[MCGrad2006]

*Crafting Gift certificates for me--If I have a knitting project to do, I am much happier. (although it takes me a few days after being admitted to feel good enough, not so tired)
*Ipod touch/Ipad would be cool--or accessories to go with it. like someone said gift cards for itunes.
*Books--gift cards to download/buy books of your choice.
*food!!! JUNK food...I always end up buying a whole bunch of ***** and keeping it in my top drawer. nurses, therapists and guests always laugh at all the food I have!

 

[Brad]

Yes, I dreaded Every stay.... I have only gone in when sick.
I never did the Tune Up stay like I hear others speak of.

 

[mamaScarlett]

Ever?...everytime!
Things that help-having my own fridge, and own exercise bike in my room. Plus free weights and an exercise mat. When you're bored, you may as well exercise.
I even sneak in my own tiny coffee maker. I got it at Walmart for $8 and it makes one cup at a time. I will.not.drink.hospital.coffee. However I can not live without coffee, period. My doctor kindly looks the other way.
I'm a Bible teacher so I have tons of time to read of course which is good, and I've also had time to talk to other patients on the phone 'next door' since I'm in contact isolation. This helps alot bc it keeps my mind off of myself and helping others.
Hubby brings food for me, which also helps keeps my mood up. Hospital food is one of the most depressing aspects of all of it.
Plus my own pillow and own blanket from home.

 

[Printer]

I have never been admitted to the hospital unless I really needed to be there. If I could receive sufficent care or treatment at home, I would stay home. I go to the hospital because I require the treatment that only they can provide. Going to the hospital is not an option nor is it a vacation.

The pleasure or lack thereof, is in direct corrolation to the pleasantness of the nursing staff.

My hospital needs are pretty simple. I bring my laptop and my cell phone.

If you attended college and ate cafeteria food for months on end, hospital food is not so bad.

Bill

 

[Havoc]

TED.com and Topdocumentaryfilms.com help pass the hours and are so much better than the crap that's on TV.

 

[jamoncita]

i have dreaded every single stay (i hate getting the picc placed), but have never had the option of NOT going when it was necessary. i guess it has helped me to have a big family living nearby so i get lots of visitors. probably also helps that i like being alone sometimes. i like the time i have to read, look through magazines, draw, write, watch movies, and listen to music. i also enjoy being served <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> hehehe. i love the free food and candy and goodies i get from people! hm... people. people make the difference. like someone posted above, a good staff makes a good stay. just like good visitors. exploring the hospital is fun too, when things are really boring. someone else did say leaving the hospital; that can be really nice if you can slip away for a while! i can't believe all the stuff mamascarlett gets in her room!! that's in the hospital?!? wild!!
p.s. i should add i've had a laptop with me since the second stay, which is how i watch moves andlisten to music. having something from home and one's own clothes is good also.

 

[robert321]

Once I had an upcoming recorded audition that I needed to be practicing for (on my trombone) and I arranged for a conference room where I could practice. I brought equipment with me and used my laptop as a little recording studio and recorded that audition in that conference room in the hospital. I was still admitting to the childrens hospital at the time and they had more of a sense of humor. I don't think I would get by with that now.
Good nurses make all the difference in the world. I ALWAYS make sure I keep a chair on the "IV pole" side of the room for making conversation with the nurses. If we get a good conversation going while they are hanging something they are more likely to sit down and stay a while. I don't like explaining cf, don't like telling people I'm in the hospital, so when I'm in not very many people even know and the hospital is a little over an hour away from home so I don't get a whole lot of visitors. Especially since I moved to the adult hospital. I avoid people coming to see me unless they are familiar with cf because the floor they chose to be the "cf floor" was the underutilized pallative care unit. It makes for some very nice rooms, quiet neighbors, and more free roam but sure is hard to explain to visitors. Its a 16 room unit and at any given time at least half of the census is cfers.

Also one thing my dr pushed me to do last time I was in that I thought he was nuts for at the time and kinda made me mad was he wanted me to get up and get actually dressed each day, and unless there was some reason to be in the bed he wanted me to get up and sit at the table or in the recliner (we have these great little coffee house type tables in the rooms) so if I was on the computer or studying I would do it at the table and watch tv from the recliner. It really actually helped with the stircrazy. During most of the day if I wasn't taking a nap I left the bed "folded up" (you know how if you raise the head and feet all the way it gets shorter so you have more room in your room)

 

[bigstar]

Having to stay in the hospital sucks! My doctors allow home IVs so i dont have to stay there for many days. BUT once a year the have to run regular tests so i have to be admitted. I hate it. Unfortunately in Greece there are no CF clinics or Cf floors at public hospitals. So you have to share a room with other patients. We know how unpleasant this can be for various reasons. On the other hand i hate hospitals. I hate the smell i hate the white sheets i hate the bathrooms everything. But most of all i hate the fact that because people around me dont know about my CF and i cannot share with them what im going through. Anyway till recently i was having my own apartment close to the hospital (i was going to college in that city) and my doctor allowed me to go home at night and come back in the morning (yeah she is amazing). Now im back in my parents house and its a 2 hour drive so ill have to stay there. There is noone that dreads hospital stays more than me. Dont feel alone.

 

[ContinuallyRefined]

All helpful input, thanks guys. Interesting to see how wide the spectrum is on what people dread. Like Bill, I don't mind the food much -- eating's a chore for me most days but mushy, gravy-laden hospital food goes right down, haha. but I'd definitely go crazy if I didn't bring laptop, phone, guitar and have visitors.

ryry11 - I read your list of 100 things. Nice compilation!
brad -- I'm like you and have never gone in preemptively. I call them tune-ups though even though I only go in when sick.
mamaScarlett -- wow, that's a lot! I've brought in a lamp several stays which was a really really nice touch. Until my son knocked it over <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> Gotta get another!
Robert321 - that's great advice from your doc! I had a similar realization the other day about shaving. Gotta still do it to add some normalcy!

 

[reginadpruitt]

To jamoncita---I always hated getting PICCs placed as well. I finallh got a port a couple of years ago (b/c I HAD to--no veins left) and I wish I had done it much sooner. I previously resisted getting a port b/c I felt that it would be an admittance that my disease was gettinh worse. DUMB ME!! My port has changed my life! It makes IV abx so much easier to deal wtih. You can also have blood drawn out of it. So, if you have the option, I recommend getting a port!! You can avoid those dreaded PICCs!!
In regards to dreading hospital stays.....I don't think anyone ever looks forward to them, but some things that help are movies, magazines, books. I love mamascarlet's idea of bringing in her own coffee pot. I am definitely going to steal that idea during my next hospital stay!! Oh, a fridge would be great too, but that would be heavy to lug around in and out of the hospital. Also, previous posts regarding staff making a difference is very true! They make ALL the difference!
Best wishes to everyone!! Let's stay healthy!!
Regina
37y/o wife and mother of 2 fabulous sons (biolgical). Homozygous Delta F508; chronic carrier of PA. Have had B. Cepacia, MRSA, Aspergillus, and MAC--only thing I've grown out over the last year an a half has been the pseudomonas!! YAY!!

 

[ryry11]

Thanks! It took SO LONG to write.
I was thinking about this in the car, and thought that although it would be incredibly expensive, a recording studio would be awesome. Singing would be killer CPT, it would be music therapy, and it would be a wonderful distraction.

 

[mamaScarlett]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>reginadpruitt</b></i>I love mamascarlet's idea of bringing in her own coffee pot. I am definitely going to steal that idea during my next hospital stay!! Oh, a fridge would be great too, but that would be heavy to lug around in and out of the hospital. Also, previous posts regarding staff making a difference is very true! They make ALL the difference! Best wishes to everyone!! Let's stay healthy!! Regina 37y/o wife and mother of 2 fabulous sons (biolgical). Homozygous Delta F508; chronic carrier of PA. Have had B. Cepacia, MRSA, Aspergillus, and MAC--only thing I've grown out over the last year an a half has been the pseudomonas!! YAY!!</end quote>

By all means steal the coffee pot idea..not that I'm condoning sneakiness (LOL) but keep it small...you'd be surprised how small they make them. I didn't ask any questions, I just started using it. It was only until they saw it that they mentioned they weren't sure if it was 'allowed'. I said, oh thats a shame bc I if I can't have decent coffee every day, I'm going home! It wasn't a problem after that. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> I took it out early to make a cup, then put it away in the closet every day. hey we all have our vices.
At most hospitals now, you can request a fridge. Ask the social worker. You could also buy one of those plug in coolers at walmart. They're about $50.

 

[Aboveallislove]

Lol at the then I'm going home!

 

[beautifulsoul]

I agree with ipods/iTunes cards. Even though a lot of people already have iPods these days they could aways use the gift cards for more music, movies and apps purchases.
I'm a creative person so for me personally I would want scrap booking or drawing supplies. For scrap booking; scrapbook paper, stickers, embelishments and craft scissors. For drawing; sketchpads, tracing paper, drawing pencils and colored pencils. Maybe "how to draw..." books. There are tons of creative materials out there to work with....

 

[imported_Momto2]

OK, I'm sorry, I just have to say it. When HAVENT I dreaded heading towards the hospital, even for simple check-up? I am like a dog at the vets.....drag me in whipsawing at the end of my leash and get dragged out running for home tail tucked and whimpering............