Hospitals are so boring lets lighten the mood

[TheDisneyDoll]

I've seen people share on here about their experiences with different medical conditions and things,
Anyone here who is hospitalized regularly or ever been hospitalized what they do to keep from dying of boredom?

I have several friends who are in the hospital at the moment and it would be cool to give them some creative ideas to relieve their stress and frustrations. I also end up in the hospital a lot so finding something unique is getting harder and harder.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Depending on what ward they are in and where there room is, they could do a "count the number of people" game. I counted the number of times the nurse told people they had too many visitors I their room at once when I was in pre-term labor. 5 times in an hour was the record.

 

[gap2368]

normally when I am in the hospital I am so sick I just want to sleep or I am being put to sleep for surgery. sorry your friends are in the hospital that is no fun at all.

 

[lanejudy]

I don't know that I have any great suggestions... my last hospitalization I was so bored I walked the halls down to the nursery probably almost hourly. My daughter is always on the pediatric wing where there's always something to do, though she's never been in for more than a few nights so probably not long enough to get bored.

 

[minkydog]

Ugh. Having just gotten out of the hospital yesterday, I think I'll play along. The first 3 days I was there, I was so sick that I hardly even got out of bed--they wouldn't even let me shower. My hair was sticking straight up. I had no energy or concentration to do anything more than put a few spoons of pudding in my mouth. Honestly, during that portion of my illness there was NOTHING that would have helped. All I wanted to do was sleep and I was VERY glad that no visitors came, because I looked and felt terrible. So, be sure before you head to the hospital that your visit will be welcome.

However, once I turned a corner and I really would have liked something to do besides watching Four Weddings or ESPN. A short visit from a friend (15 min or less!) would have been okay. Easy to read magazines like People or National Inquirer. No books which require following a plot. I would have liked a small hand-held electronic game, word search, or simple coloring books for kids (I am still not quite strong enough to manage the fancy adult coloring books.) I am undergoing chemo, so scents are affecting me a lot--I would have liked a nice, neutral lip gloss and some mildly scented body powder to help me feel fresh. And underpants. My DH kept forgetting to bring me underpants. I swear, I'm going to stash about 6 pair in the back of my car, "just in case"...

 

[Goofy14sure]

Last time I counted the little holes in the ceiling tiles! Never did get them all (sorry I'm not much help!)

 

[gap2368]

I don't know that I have any great suggestions... my last hospitalization I was so bored I walked the halls down to the nursery probably almost hourly. My daughter is always on the pediatric wing where there's always something to do, though she's never been in for more than a few nights so probably not long enough to get bored.

I miss the pediatric hospital so much they always have a lot of fun things to do, some how no matter how bad I was feeling when child life came in even though they were normally going over some thing that was happing to me I still loved them.

To the OP.
1 play games on your phone,
2 if you can bring them puzzle books or a book
3 TV
4 if able walk around

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I don't know that I have any great suggestions... my last hospitalization I was so bored I walked the halls down to the nursery probably almost hourly. My daughter is always on the pediatric wing where there's always something to do, though she's never been in for more than a few nights so probably not long enough to get bored.

I missed the children hospital. They always had something to do or someone to talk to, adults don't really get treated that way unfortunately
I feel you on the walking though! I trained for a 5k the last time i was in once i was able to walk again. My friends and I all have the same lung condition so we are encouraged to do as much walking as possible but even that gets old after a few dozen laps per day

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Ugh. Having just gotten out of the hospital yesterday, I think I'll play along. The first 3 days I was there, I was so sick that I hardly even got out of bed--they wouldn't even let me shower. My hair was sticking straight up. I had no energy or concentration to do anything more than put a few spoons of pudding in my mouth. Honestly, during that portion of my illness there was NOTHING that would have helped. All I wanted to do was sleep and I was VERY glad that no visitors came, because I looked and felt terrible. So, be sure before you head to the hospital that your visit will be welcome.

However, once I turned a corner and I really would have liked something to do besides watching Four Weddings or ESPN. A short visit from a friend (15 min or less!) would have been okay. Easy to read magazines like People or National Inquirer. No books which require following a plot. I would have liked a small hand-held electronic game, word search, or simple coloring books for kids (I am still not quite strong enough to manage the fancy adult coloring books.) I am undergoing chemo, so scents are affecting me a lot--I would have liked a nice, neutral lip gloss and some mildly scented body powder to help me feel fresh. And underpants. My DH kept forgetting to bring me underpants. I swear, I'm going to stash about 6 pair in the back of my car, "just in case"...

Four weddings is so great though! That and chopped! Those are my go too's.
Unfortunately i'm not allowed to visit them, and we can't come in physical contact with each other or the same things, but we talk
One of my friends has taken a liking to drawing pictures of disney characters. Poor kids been in for over a month now though
I'm afraid i've tried giving them my pastimes but they don't mesh well

 

[minnie mum]

Last couple of times were for surgeries, so the first 2 days I basically slept ( thanks, morphine) or did whatever the physiotherapist insisted I do. After that I watched TV ( our hospital had a decent cable selection), read magazines ( my Kobo reader was there, but the pills meant I couldn't concentrate for long), did crosswords or sudoku, or browsed the interwebs and played games on my tablet. I was only allowed out of bed with assistance, but after a few days, whenever DH was there, I'd try to make it down the hall and back a few times a day.

 

[Baklava]

normally when I am in the hospital I am so sick I just want to sleep or I am being put to sleep for surgery. sorry your friends are in the hospital that is no fun at all.

Ditto. If I was better I'd be reading but since I end up in the hospital because my lungs are shutting down, I'm barely awake most of the time.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Ditto. If I was better I'd be reading but since I end up in the hospital because my lungs are shutting down, I'm barely awake most of the time.

your lungs are failing too? Have you considered a transplant at all (i'm sorry if thats to personal). I've was grateful to be taken off the list when i turned 19, but i don't have much time left before that is my only option again. My lung function is holding steady right now though thank goodness.

 

[Baklava]

I am blessed to not be that bad off. Steroids and oxygen and bed rest are still sufficient to get me back on my feet. The next step is probably an O2 tank that goes home with me.

I am glad you're stable right now. Not breathing is terribly inconvenient!

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I am blessed to not be that bad off. Steroids and oxygen and bed rest are still sufficient to get me back on my feet. The next step is probably an O2 tank that goes home with me.

I am glad you're stable right now. Not breathing is terribly inconvenient!

I underhand you on the oxygen. I'm in this awkward limbo where my o2 is just barely high enough to not need it when "healthy" but if i do to much activity it drops, the doctors don't want to put me on supplement to soon so i don't develop a premature dependency on it, which i understand and makes sense, but it sure is hard to stay active when you can't breathe. Plus all that coughing, even after 20+ years of being sick i have a hard time remembering that the coughs are a good thing.

 

[Sparkly]

Only once, for an asthma attack when I was small. Thankfully only stayed in a couple of days. I was only like 4 yet I remember a lot about it.

 

[elmoandzoey]

After my latest surgery I had to stay in hospital for a week. I wasn't mobile so pretty much confined to bed. The day I arrived, I was informed the TV attached to my bed wasn't working but they had asked for maintenance to come fix it. Let me just say that it still wasn't fixed when I left a week later. I was ready to die from boredom because while I had my iPad with me, I had not planned on having to occupy myself just with the iPad for the whole time. I had a few movies and tv shows on it plus some games but those lasted pretty much only for 3 days. On the third day, the library cart came around and I just grabbed half a dozen books off it. The lady looked at me like, okay? Said my tv was broken and then she offered to back the day after with a new selection of books. I was bored out of my freaking mind really!

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

After my latest surgery I had to stay in hospital for a week. I wasn't mobile so pretty much confined to bed. The day I arrived, I was informed the TV attached to my bed wasn't working but they had asked for maintenance to come fix it. Let me just say that it still wasn't fixed when I left a week later. I was ready to die from boredom because while I had my iPad with me, I had not planned on having to occupy myself just with the iPad for the whole time. I had a few movies and tv shows on it plus some games but those lasted pretty much only for 3 days. On the third day, the library cart came around and I just grabbed half a dozen books off it. The lady looked at me like, okay? Said my tv was broken and then she offered to back the day after with a new selection of books. I was bored out of my freaking mind really!

TV does help but it's still only good for so long let me tell yeah. The worst is the hospitals that don't offer patient wifi. I've only been to one hospital in the past 5-7 years that didn't offer any patient wifi and it was the worst experience. I couldn't watch movies or youtube anything it was miserable!
Thankfully my normal hospital has free wifi and also has good service so it runs quick. I really wouldn't make it without the internet for that long in there.
My hospital has a library cart but i'm not allowed to borrow and look at the books. I am kept under a contact precaution because I can catch the infections from other rooms pretty easily, though nothing i have (on average) is contagious to anyone. My friends and i all share the same disease so we're all in the same boat.

 

[Baklava]

Oh my God, YES! My last hospital stay I discovered that there was no cell reception! No texting, no FB, no calling to cancel appointments... super frustrating! Some contact with friends would have made things better.

 

[gap2368]

the last time I was at celebration the hospital near disney the WIFI went out and I was not a happy person that night the nurse kept coming in like ever 20 minutes to do something to me. yes I agree Wifi is great when in the hospital

 

[bopper]

I was in the hospital with pneumonia and I watched HGTV plus I used my phone for FB and the like.