How to Survive a Long Hospital Stay
If you have been following my blog you know my story. If not, here is the short version:
At 17 weeks pregnant with my son, I was a pedestrian struck by a car. This lead to placental abruption and major hemorrhaging so I was forced to stay in the hospital for almost 3 months to keep me and my unborn baby safe. Needless to say, it was absolute hell. But I survived it with a smile on my face most of the time and in this post I'll explain how. Hopefully these tips and tools will help you as much as they did me.
Read Some Books
Thankfully we live in the era of e-everything. I downloaded a few e-books to read and I also had friends and family bring me books as I read the ones I had. If you have anyone bring you books, I recommend being very specific about the types of books you like to read. I had a few brought to me that were just paper weights because I'm not interested in certain types of reading. This tied up a decent amount of time and kept my mind wondering. It was a refreshing break from HGTV which was really the only channel I watched on the hospital TV. (I want to add magazines as well. There were volunteers that would come around once a week and offer free magazines to read. That was a nice way to catch up on my celebrity gossip and dream of my next home and garden DIY project that I would never find time to complete.) One of my favorite books I read in the hospital was The Dirty Book Club. It was a cute story of a group of women who were proud to be women and loved to explore their sexuality while strengthening their friendships through the naughty books they read. If you like these sorts of books I highly recommend it.
Puzzle Books
I had some friends bring me crossword books, sudoku books (Try this one with over 400 puzzles Sudoku: 400 + Puzzles), and even dot-to-dot/connect the dot books. These kept me thinking about something other than how miserable I was sitting in a hospital bed all day. I'm a puzzle person so these were all up my alley. Find what you like best and have someone bring you some. If you don't have anyone that can bring you stuff order online and have them shipped to the hospital. Your nursing staff can help you with deliveries. I never had to use this option because my boyfriend came to see me every day.
Get Dressed
If you are allowed to (not forced to stay in a hospital gown), put on daytime clothes and fix your hair, brush your teeth, shower and get presentable as if you have somewhere to go. I found it easier to have a daytime routine that included getting dressed for the day and a night time routine that included dressing down for sleep. This was probably the most essential to me maintaining my sanity. Maybe I'm a bit vain but I feel more sick if I don't feel pretty.
Arts and Crafts
Have someone bring your some coloring books and markers or crayons and embrace your inner artist or even some non-toxic paint and blank canvases. I did a little bit of coloring in those adult coloring books but I got bored with it pretty fast. I decided to challenge myself with learning something I had never done before. I learned to knit thanks to YouTube videos and Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook. I had my friends and family bring me the supplies I needed. While I was in the hospital I knitted a baby blanket, then baby booties, then a baby vest, a baby hat and then a headband for my 4 year old daughter. It was quite fun to me and very relaxing. I could knit and watch TV at the same time and I felt like I was being productive. I will say knitting is pretty time consuming and difficult. If you are impatient I have been told that crocheting is a bit easier to pick up and it goes faster.
Go For a Walk
For most of my stay I wasn't allowed to walk any further than my bathroom so I didn't have this option; however, my doctor allowed me wheelchair privileges once a day. I would have whoever came to visit me that day wheel me outside to the zen garden and we would sit outside and I was able to get some fresh air. Lets face it, anyone goes crazy cooped up in a room all day so it was really refreshing to get some fresh air once a day. Later on in my pregnancy they wanted me up and walking to help get the baby in position for birth so it was really nice to finally be able to walk. Be sure to follow your doctor's orders on walking.
Schedule Your Visitors
I have a huge family and a good amount of them wanted to come spend time with me when they had it so I was happy to have them. They would all say, "I'm going to come see you this week. What day/time works best?" I would literally schedule them so that I could maximize the amount of social time I had. You don't want all your family to show up at once and then leave at the same time. I liked having them come at different times so most of my day wasn't spent alone. Especially on the weekends.
Catch Up With Friends
I had a ton of free time and no kids around to interrupt my phone conversations. I took full advantage of that time and caught up with some friends I hadn't been able to talk to in quite a while. Talking on the phone helps you not to feel alone even if they can't come to visit. If you're anything like me, as soon as you pick up the phone your kids need your attention or else the house will catch on fire, someone will lose an arm and a tornado will strike all at once. At least that's the way the kids see it. So trust me when I say, this is truly the best time of all to talk on the phone until your heart is content.
Be the Family CFO
My partner was busy taking care of my 4 year old, the dog, the cat, work and household chores and maintenance. Add coming to see me every day to that and you can see he was stretched pretty thin. He was happy to let me pay the bills. Since everything can be paid online or over the phone these days I was happy to do it. I kept a little chart of when everything was due and set reminders in my phone and would sit and pay all the bills. This helped me still feel needed and important. I had a duty and a job to contribute to my family. I also took care of calls to insurance companies or setting up his and my daughter's doctor appointments or anything else he needed. I was essentially his admin tech and I was happy to help out.
Build Your Faith
If you are religious, use this time to meditate and get stronger in your faith/beliefs. I had a devotional book that I read every day and did the exercises in it. This kept me pretty content and I felt as though I was promoting some healthy self growth and maturity.
Outside Food
Ever had hospital food? Its not too bad. But when you eat it every day for countless days straight you get burnt out pretty quick. The menu never changes and you can only be so creative. Plus, they make all these rules about what you can order together and at what time. You definitely find your favorites but you get pretty sick of it after a good week or two. I had friends and family bring me some of my favorite foods (I was pregnant so I had those preggo cravings hahahaha). When someone says they are coming to see you and they ask, "Is there anything I can get you?" Don't miss this opportunity to ask. I started out bashful and would say "no thanks. I'm fine!" I learned after about two weeks that I was not fine! So when they would ask, I would tell them what I was craving and ask them to please bring me some. They always did. Who is going to turn down someone trapped in the hospital? NOBODY! So don't be shy! They are offering because they truly want to help you.
Bring a Piece of Home
I had my boyfriend bring me a few things from home to help me feel more comfy. He brought me a blanket that was soft and cozy and far outdid the rough hospital blankets. He brought me some of my favorite pillows because hospital pillows lose shape in about 5 minutes. (Pregnant women NEED a lot of pillows hahahaha). He also brought me a Himalayan Salt Rock Lamp and a picture college of me and my daughter. It was nice to have those things around me to help me not feel so put out.
Summary
These were all the things I did to help me survive my stay in the hospital and I hope they will help you too. Comment below if you have any to add and I will get them posted as well. Nobody likes to stay in the hospital for an extended stay but it is manageable with the right tips and tools in place. The biggest thing to remember is that you are only there temporarily. It isn't a permanent thing and you can do anything for a minute if you put your mind to it. Live each day 1 by 1 and don't look too far ahead. Most of all, get some rest and get well soon. ;-) Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list for cool promotions and updates!!!
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