Quote from: aleon515 on September 20, 2013, 02:18:24 AM
Wow! 5 days. My guess is that this is going to be VERY boring.
Oh let me tell you what's boring: Two days in hospital, and then 4 days in a small hotel room, all alone.
I was lucky and had my drains out on the second day after surgery, but had to have the nipple dressing removed there on day 6 after surgery. Since I also had come a long way, it was a hotel stay for me. It was fully covered though, and the hotel was right next to the hospital with connecting hallways, so my luggage and I was wheeled there by an orderly.
In the hospital I only wore the provided night-shirts (since they had buttons in the front) and boxers the first day, added pajama pants the second day, and a hospital bath robe so I could walk around a little without grossing people out with my drains. The drains here were larger than what I have seen in pics with collecting bags attached, and I could hook them on one of the buttons on my night shirt. I later dug out a belt and attached them to that, so I didn't walk around looking preggers. XD Felt more like a cowboy then. :p I don't know how much sleeping nude would have bothered the nurses, but I'm sure they didn't mind the boxers (even if a nurse had to help me put on that first pair ), especially since I only slept with a thin sheet which I often had next to me rather than on top of me. I thought it was funny hearing them talking in the hallway the morning after the surgery, as one was informing another not to bother with the duvet put aside on a chair, because it belonged to the warm guy sleeping next to the open window with only a sheet. XD (Lucky bed placement..) After going to the hotel I switched to tees in the day time, it felt more proper when going to the dining room. I had brought some extra large and stretchy one, and while it wasn't the easiest thing getting on, it worked (this was after drains were out though! If I had to keep them in while at the hotel, I would have stuck to the hospital shirts..)
Anyways, to do the list-thing: here's the stuff I brought:
-Paper back novel (never looked at it, wouldn't have been able to stay focused enough to read)
-Laptop (my best friend during the entire stay, mainly because Netflix and free wi-fi. Also, some forums)
-Phone (served as my modem when I was in hospital since my room was out of range of their free wi-fi)
-Knitting (small project that required little thinking and hand movement, it was good being able to keep hands busy (but not so busy it would strain them))
-Basic toiletries (I skipped shower soap since I knew they had dispensers with good enough stuff in the bathrooms, and less to carry with me when going to freshen up)
-Xerodrops (expensive candy with saliva stimulants and fluoride - I already had an issue with dry mouth due to meds I'm on, so that was why. The air at the hospital was very dry, so it would probably have come in handy without already having this issue)
-Pencil and note book (I have ADD and forget everything. Add to that post-op woozy, and everything i'm told would be lost forever. I tried writing down every info I was given and any questions I thought of I might want to ask plus a lot more. I even started on a mitten design XD )
-Baby wipes of the flushable kind (good to have around when hand movements are restricted and .. well. Nice to have.)
-Wool socks (I'm normally very warm, but can get cold toesies when inactive)
-Pajama pants
-Shorts (it was still summer temperatures out)
-Hoodie
I was trying to think of something I wished I had brought, but apart from my short sleeved button up shirt (which I had forgotten to clean in advance...), I think I was pretty much set. Oh, it would have been nice with some extra snacks in my bag, that one is true. I didn't mind the hospital food though, and figured it didn't hurt to take the opportunity to eat less, as I definitely can stand to lose a few more pounds. >.> Mind you, after going to the hotel I made a daily walk to the hospital cafeteria to get a danish or something to enjoy with my afternoon coffee. ^_^'
Oh, and their patient library was divine. I stopped by the day I was admitted (had surgery the next day) and discovered they had a vast selection of dvd's including a lot of really new stuff, so I grabbed a few to keep me entertained (and thus not use up my phone's Internets on Netflix).
Well, I think I went into ramble mode here. That's probably related to me now sitting at home and not having much of anything to do. While the chest is healing splendidly, my energy levels are low, dizzyness levels are high, and I'm still relying on Netflix and knitting to keep me entertained.
