I remember waking up and was extremely tired the first day, but anxious at the same time. The inundation of medication was exhausting and I was almost narcoleptic. I would be listening to people talk and trying to talk (more whisper after the vent came out) and would just fall asleep mid sentence. Also there was a lapse of time the first day or so. I can remember things happening but time orientation is very much out of whack, so I wasn't sure how long I had been in the hospital for a few days.
For the record I had that experience and had a relatively problem free recovery. I was awake within 3 hours of my transplant ending and off the vent within 5 hours. I was up and out of bed within 24 hours and so on.
I had hallucinations for days. I was in the hospital about 12 days post transplant. I could have gone home sooner, but had a small lung collapse and had to have a fishtail chest tube (I think that is what they are called). They wanted to send me home with that in, but I asked them to keep me because I did not want to worry with messing it up once I got home.
I would bring house slippers or your own socks, lotion (my hands were so dry it was ridiculous) and something to entertain you. I didn't read much because I had a hard time focusing (my eyesight) for a few days. I was exhausted in the hospital because there was always someone in the room, physical therapy trying to get me to get up and walk the halls, nurses for meds, lab techs for lab work, doctors, you are getting bronchs done, breathing treatments on occasion. I personally only had a few days worth of breathing treatments because they started causing bronchial spasms, so the doc discontinued them. Each person's experience is different, but I would consider bringing things similar to when you are normally in the hospital. Prepare yourself for being very weak. I was so weak in the immediate post hospital stay that I could barely flush the toilet by myself. I remember trying to grab a bottle of water and my hands could not grip it properly, so I dropped it on the floor. Strength came back relatively quickly though. Even so you can't lift anything over 5-10 lbs for like 8 weeks, at least per my center.
Any questions feel free to ask. Good luck with everything!
Lindsey
