My father recently had a total laryngectomy. He was healing very well, despite a bout of atrial fibrillation the weekend after the surgery which prompted the docs to move him to the cardiac ward and put him on blood thinners. (Yeah, I didn’t think it sounded like a good idea either, but what do I know.) A few hours after I got him home we had to go back to the hospital because he was developing a massive hematoma. After a long scary night with him bleeding through his mouth and nose, he went through emergency surgery.
It’s now been a week, and he is not healing as quickly from this surgery. One of the doctors said he may be in the hospital for a few more weeks. He is bored and restless, and I’m worried about keeping his spirits up and his mind occupied. He is an intelligent man but not a particularly social one. I’ve got books to lend him, but what other things might be a destraction for him? He doesn’t usually do puzzles, but I’m going to bring some just in case.
If you’ve been through a long hospitalization, what sort of things did you find yourself doing to pass the time? What have you given someone in the hospital that helped them get through it? Any advice anyone has would be appreciated!
I have to go into the hospital periodically, and I take books, both old favorites and unread ones. I also take some crafts (in my case, cross stitching and knitting, mostly) and drawing supplies. I have a toy kitten that I always take, because I miss my real cats desperately when I’m in. The last time I took a laptop and a few games, mostly card games and a computer role-playing game (an old D&D game). Puzzle books are a good option, too.
One thing about crafts…some crafts require things like airplane glue and spray paint, which hospitals may not allow in the room. So be careful about that sort of thing. I’d advise against jigsaw puzzles, because there’s nowhere to really set them up and leave them.
Really, just about anything is better than watching TV.
Oh, and I asked my doctor for permission for my family to bring in some of my favorite fresh fruits and a couple of snack size chocolate bars. I have a fondness for pears and oranges, and the hospital meals, while nutritious, did not offer these items. Of course, you’ll need to get permission to bring in foods, and what sorts. I have no idea what sort of things a laryngectomy patient might be able to eat. As a patient, though, I can tell you that I really looked forward to having my midmorning snack of fruit and my evening snack of a chocolate bar.
I don’t know if this would be ideal for him but I was in the hospital for a couple weeks a while back and my boyfriend brought in the Playstation 2 and hooked it up to the hospital TV. We asked first and they didn’t have a problem with it, and one of the nurses came by for some Tekken whenever she had free time. I enjoyed it much more for the DVDs I could watch than the games.
Hope he comes out all right! 
If there are grandkids, this is a good time to share their artwork, maybe have the kids make a “book” or maybe a movie or two of them at Christmas time or birthdays. Most hospitals have tvs with vcrs on a cart that can be rolled in. If he enjoys watching home movies, this is a good time for it.
Magazines.
Newspapers.
A hand held computer game, like solitare, black jack, tetris or gin rummy can be had usually for under $15. Chess for under $30 for a half way decent one. To relive your own teen years, you can now pick up the handhelf football game thingies that every kid had in the 80’s.
Crossword puzzles and a dictionary. You can easily pick up a book of crossword puzzles/word jumbles/word searches at just about any dollar store. Usually in one big honking book. For some reasons these books have a quick turn around from Regular store shelves to dollar stores. I use to buy them for my brother & his room mate to keep themselves busy.
Make sure he has a notepad, pens and pencils for writing things down on.
Some hospitals now rent TV/VCR/DVD combo’s. Or Maybe you can bring your own in and watch a couple of flicks. Just don’t leave it overnight. It won’t be there in the morning.
Maybe some comfort items from home: his regular toothpaste, pillow, slippers, bathrobe, lipbalm, hand creme.
I’m with the hand-held games. When my dad was in the hospital for 10 days in December, I bought him a hand-held Tetris game, not knowing if he’d like it or not (he’s 60ish). He later told me that it “saved his life” because he would get so wrapped up in the game he forgot about the pain he was in. He said he had a difficult time concentrating on books or magazines, at least at first. Didn’t distract him enough, he said. Toward the end of his stay he got more into reading again. He also watched a lot of movies; the TV in his room had a VCR. Again, he had a hard time concentrating at first, mostly because of all the drugs they had him on!
The other thing that freaked my dad out was that he wasn’t able to get up to shave. I asked the nurses and they brought him a battery-operated razor to use. For some odd reason, it made him feel much better to have shaved!
Best wishes to you and your dad!
Some homey things are nice, like maybe a favorite blanket, pillow, robe and slippers. The hospital robes not only leave a lot to be desired from a fashion standpoint, they gap in the back. A live plant or two would be nice, if the hospital will allow it.
When I was in the hospital, I would have killed for some prepaid phone cards and a Walkman.
I’ll try to think of more. I’m thinking of a zillion food things I missed, but then my leg was the issue, so no dietary restrictions. I used to beg Mom to bring me Szechuan stir-friend spicy eggplant because hospital food was so bland.
I’ve only had one long term hospital stay, but I thought I would go insane from boredom. The first few days, reading wasn’t really an option, and all I felt up to was vegging in front of the TV. As I started to recuperate, though, I did a lot of reading, and also logic puzzles, which I love but never seem to find time to do. After I’d been in about a week or so, my boss brought in a lap top which he’d downloaded a hundred or so research articles onto for me to read through. That was a nice gesture, but I preferred using it for playing games on.
If you have a lap top available, and your father is computer literate, he might really appreciate the use of it. If not, I’d second those little hand held games. My father-in-law had one of those poker games and he loved it.
Most importantly, I think, is to make sure that he gets visitors and phone calls, and feels as if he’s still part of the world.
Hope he’s feeling much better soon!
My 21 year old nephew was in the hospital for 3 weeks. I think the best thing for him was company. Of course, company brought real food, played cards, etcetera, but he really wanted family around. I brought lots of books, too. He had two broken legs, a broken arm, broken ribs and a bunch of other things so there were a lot of mobility issues.
Best wishes for your father.
StG
My library has a lot of books on tape, so that might be something that could keep him occupied. I used to take a lot of rides around the hospital in a wheelchair, up and down the elevator, and around the floor, and out into the garden. If he can make the wheelchair go on his own, that’s an idea. You can push him when you’re there. It’s not good to lay still all day anyway due to clots. A shower can make you feel so much better and it takes up time. Can he do this on his own? I’m assuming he has some mobility of course.
Wow, some great ideas here! I hadn’t thought about a hand-held computer game like tetris, but I think I’ll have to go shopping now. He’s very computer literate–practically ran for the computer room when I got him home the first time–but we’re a little concerned about leaving something as valuable as a laptop around the hospital. A hand-held computer game sounds like a good compromise.
Unfortunately as a result of the laryngectomy he can’t talk, and he’s on a feeding tube and not allowed to swallow anything. Food is usually my comfort response, which may be why I’m feeling a little at-sea. We have taken him piles of books, and either my mother or I take him the daily paper.
Thanks again for the ideas, and for the good wishes.