Top 5 Hospital Stay Annoyances
Being in the hospital is never fun.
Plus, if you’re hospitalized because something is wrong but that something remains unknown, that’s even worse. Certain issues inevitably crop up during a hospital stay. I’m sharing my top 5 so you’ll know what you’re up against. Being prepared could prevent you from losing it.
1. No Rest for the Weary
Rest typically helps when you’re sick. But in the hospital stay, reality defies common sense. It’s not bad enough that it’s noisy. What’s worse. The staff comes in at all hours to draw blood, take your temperature, or check your blood pressure. I have vivid recollections of being poked with blood draw needles as early as 5 a.m. My quiet time occurred between 7:30 and noon. By then I was actually too tired and disrupted to fully rest or sleep.
2. 30 Days of Staring With No End in Sight
I became a brooder which was one of the worst parts of being in the hospital. In fact, I spent far too many hours of my 30-day stay just looking at my hospital room walls and ceiling. I wouldn’t even touch my laptop and didn’t watch TV. All the prodding by family and friends to walk the halls, talk to visitors, or do anything that would distract me from what was going on with my condition fell on deaf ears. It’s fair to say, I was depressed which was very unlike me. But the voice inside of me kept repeating the same thing. “I’m here and there’s no end in sight.
3. Your Life On Hold
Your whole life seems on hold when you’re in the hospital…everything from a decision to change a medication that’s not doing its job to getting a response from your doctor. You are forced to wait for so many things. Even if you’re loudly saying, “I’m uncomfortable and think I’m going to throw up, you’re at their mercy. Nothing is fast. In fact, practically everything in the hospital is a waiting game.
4. Eyes Wide Open. Mouth at the Ready to Speak
You have to be aware of and keep your eye on everything that’s happening. And I mean everything! And you can’t be afraid to call the head nurse when you’re not getting what you need or when things are not moving along smoothly.
Are nurses and orderlies washing their hands before they enter the room? Are they careful about where they rest needles and tubes while they’re getting ready to inject you? Do they see your hand is swelling where they’ve poked you a million times to get blood, so they’ll send up someone with a sonogram to find better veins? Or worse, did anyone notice that your IV is infiltrated?
You may have a lot of visitors. But it’s all those times when you’re on your own that things happen, you have to be ready to speak out. We finally decided to keep a notebook so we/I could address things quickly when action was required
5. Decision Paralysis Prolongs the Inevitable
Plans can change quickly when remedies the doctors are trying don’t work. Keeping on top of the facts can get confusing. Making decisions is even harder. And repeatedly running options through your head can get exhausting.
There’s a tendency to overthink and over-share your questions with loved ones. That only delays important decision-making. I could have had surgery a week earlier if it weren’t for my wishy-washiness. You would find it hard to believe how many times I was on and off the surgery roster before my doctors were able to convince me to go ahead with the ileostomy. Beware of overthinking. If you trust your physician, listen carefully, and proceed.
Author: Paul Rea @paulreajournal
Life has an unusual way of pushing us to where we need to go. To me, that’s what Ostoh is all about.
If you’re interested in learning more about Ostoh and how it might increase your comfort, email us at hello@ostoh.com or use our contact form. Our goal is to make your ostomy life easier and make you feel what it means to be yourself.