Question:
What do I bring to the hopital?
I will be in there for 5 days...can I wear my own clothes? Or will I be wearing a gown the entire time? I will get to shower sometime right? DO I bring stuff? I am a first timer for a extended stay in the ole hospital, so I have no clue..anyone have thoughts on this? — Anne C. (posted on March 29, 2000)
March 28, 2000
You really don't need much, the hospital has all you will need. I did
bring my own large fluffy pillows, and a pair of slippers for walking.
Everything else was provided by the hospital. Yes, I did shower, and yes,
I was in a gown all week. You will be resting, walking, sipping water, and
that is about it. Good luck on your surgery. Carin
— C S.
March 28, 2000
LIP BALM. Your lips may be dry, chapped and uncomfortable when you wake
up, and mine took all week to 'recover'. I brought some dry shampoo, but
they let me shower the next day -- my doc told me to plan on not being able
to shower, so I brought some baby wipes and it made me feel more
comfortable between showers. Bring sanitary supplies -- some women get
off-schedule due to the surgery. Good luck!
— Toni B.
March 29, 2000
Absolutely CHAPSTICK! In addition to your lips being dry, if you have an
NG tube it's great for sealing off any irritated spots in your nostril from
the tube. It promotes healing, too. Also shampoo. Most hospitals don't
have it readily available for patients' use. Make sure your slippers are
the kind you can slip your feet into with little trouble, and have a rubber
bottom for traction so you don't slip on the floors. My other advice to
you would be to use that pain medication! Some people don't, and a body in
pain is a body stressed, which keeps the body from healing itself as
quickly as it could. Plan to sleep a lot! God bless.
— [Anonymous]
March 29, 2000
Feel free to bring your own gowns. After the first two days, you may want
to slip into your own after your shower. Before that, you will be having a
bedbath - which isn't too bad either. Make sure you bring a robe, or you
can wear another hospital gown as a robe if you don't own one. Just relax
and let them pamper you and don't forget to get up and WALK, WALK, WALK.
Be prepared to do it often (even request someone to walk with you if they
don't offer every hour or so to avoid blood clots. And, wiggle your toes
and move your legs alot! Best wishes
— Cindy H.
March 29, 2000
Absolutely bring chapstick, carmex or something for your lips. They will
be very dry. As for anything else, you will need slippers, a robe and a
gown. For the first few days you will be fine in the hospital gown, but
after you shower you will feel better in your own clothes. I sure did.
— kelly P.
March 29, 2000
Hi Molly - I took all kinds of goodies with me - games,
puzzles, crayons and coloring books... LOL... seriously, I
took a lot of things to keep me occupied, since I get bored
VERY easily... and I never once took them out of my bag. Go
figure. I just snoozed, walked, snoozed, walked, ate, walked and snoozed.
With such a busy social schedule, who had time for books and games? :-)
— Kim H.
March 29, 2000
Whoops, posted my answer to this question as a question!
I found bringing my own shower gel and shampoo made me feel very good. I
brought slippers, my own pillow from home, and a silky nightgown/robe. I
found I didn't want to use it in case I got some "fluids" on it,
figured I'd leak on those lovely hospital gowns! That pillow was a
lifesaver in the first couple of days.
— f M.
March 29, 2000
If you live far from your hospital, bring a phone card. Most hospitals
only allow local calls. A girlfriend brought me one instead of flowers. I
was very grateful.
— Lady C.
March 29, 2000
I brought as small battery operated hand held fan ($5 at Home Depot) It was
just right!! I would also bring a couple of my favorite herbal tea bags to
enhance the hospital cuisine. Also, bring a small notebook and a pen (with
ink!) so you or a family member can write down the questions you have for
the doctor - you always forget as soon as he walks in the room or you make
be a bit zonked when the doctor comes in. Sometimes it helps to ask the
doctor to write down what he tells you, like specific words you may not
understand or instructions, etc. You may even need that pen to fill out a
menu! Also, I knew a gal who brought a small notebook, like the $1 special
at the Dollar Store-all of her guests and visitors wrote in the booklet and
it was very encouraging to her to read the comments, especially since she
was a bit out of it when some people visited!!
— Fran B.
March 29, 2000
I saw this posted before - check out this site for a good list:
http://www.homestead.com/jillbooth/things2take~ns4.html
— Paula G.
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