Make a list of things you might need for a hospital stay (or just save this one)
Like most people I remember my birth fondly. It took place in a hospital and it is for that reason I view hospitals with warm nostalgia.
However, after a recent experience with a loved one navigating A&E, surgery, and the subsequent recovery, I can't help but blush at my naivety.
Hospitals are not fun. You get bored, stressed, exhausted, and suffer. Do your best to avoid. But when you do go, and you will, make sure you have someone bring you a bag of things you might need for the 12 hours you could be waiting in A&E and the subsequent days you may spend in a hospital bed. It can be difficult to think of what you'll need during an emergency.
Below is a list of things a person might want or need while at hospital. I encourage you to save your own list in case you need it.
- Identification
- Medical insurance card (if applicable)
- Important medical documents
- A list of important medical information. The medicines you take and their dosages, any allergies you have, that sort of thing. You can also put this on your phone.
- Phone. So you can tell people which hospital you're in, where to find you, and so you can freak yourself out by googling your symptoms.
- Phone charger
- Feminine hygiene products. Consider making your hospital stay less tolerable by menstruating at the same time.
- Games console – there is some evidence that playing tetris shortly after a traumatic event can prevent you from developing PTSD.1 Anecdotally I can tell you that video games are very fun.
- Books to read. While I love a pamphlet with a name like "What to expect when you're expecting a colonoscopy" and "Learning to live with a stubbed toe" they can only entertain you for so long. They're just too darn short!
- iPod - For listening to audiobooks and music and such things.
- Headphones. Prefereably, noise cancelling if you can get them.
- Spare clothes – you really don't know what is going to be spilled on you at a hospital.
- Spare underpants specifically.
- Ear plugs. Sleeping in a hospital is tough. There's a lot of noises and coughs and beeping.
- Eye mask. Hospitals have lots of little lights that you're not allowed to switch off and sometimes they turn on the big lights to check if you're still alive.
- Tooth brush.
- Travel versions of hygeine products. Shampoo.
- Wipes.
- Hair brush or comb.
- Vials of skin care product. Being on an IV drip can give you a dewy glow, but you might not require one.