If you are in the US, here’s some advice that definitely applies, and may apply elsewhere, so I’ll give it:
If you go to church or shul, or whatever, and want your religious leader to have contact with you, you will need to give the hospital their contact information. They have most things on file, but they make mistakes. If there is more than one church of your denomination in town, they will not automatically call your church, because you say “Lutheran.” Conversely, if you go to a very small, non-denominational church, they may not have that on file. It’s good to have everything written out for them-- the name of the clergyperson you prefer to have visit, and the name, address and phone number of your church/shul/mosque/tabernacle/etc.
If your phone has Kindle or some equivalent, it’s not a bad idea to download a few books, and also the Audible versions of them. If for some reason you are not up to reading-- like they do some surgery, but you have read partway through a book, you can listen to the rest.
Surprised about the laptop rule but maybe they will let you use a tablet or DVD player or something? Hospitals are pretty boring and a couple of books is usually insufficient. Don’t forget earphones (as well as earplugs, which I second as a good idea)
Last time I was in, it was pretty warm and I was glad I thought to bring a desk fan.
I hope your stay goes as well as possible. My only hospital stay was an unexpected one, so all I took with me was my city bag I always have and I grabbed the phone charger on the way out the door in case I was in the waiting room for a while. When it turned out I wasn’t leaving and would at least be there overnight I was given everything I needed. I mean, it was fine for a few days. If I knew I had to be there for a week or more then I would have wanted my own stuff, but for the 4 nights I ended up staying it was fine.
I got slipper-socks, disposable undies that were surprisingly comfortable, scrub pants and a second gown to wear as a robe. Then the overnight kit had all the toilet/hygiene/shower stuff I needed to get me through a few days. I just had my smart phone but it worked for what I needed, communicated with work, posted to the Dope and watched Netflix when the basic cable got stupid late at night. My hospital also had open visiting hours, so my work friends on the night shifts could pop in at 2am if they wanted.
Rather than a 4-way busbar or similar for your electronics, get yourself a charger with multiple USB outputs. Braid or otherwise secure your USB cables together. Actually, get yourself two chargers - different brands - in case one breaks, and a spare USB cable.
I turn my meds over to no one other than my husband … and of course I checked my bill and noticed they tried charging me for my own meds that I brought and self-dispensed and called them on it.
Other random comments - definitely bring fiber tabs and some sort of water flavoring [I adore the new MIO liquid ‘koolaid’ - the orange vanilla comes out tasting like a creamsicle, and they have 2 coffee flavors that are great dripped into milk and have caffeine equivalent to a cup of coffee. Some of the other flavors have electrolytes, b vitamins or caffeine as well.]
Get your doctor to actually write out a nutrition plan letting you have some condiments - lots of the food isn’t sweetened [oatmeal, blargh] or salted … I use minimus.biz and buy fast food type condiment packets [they ave everything from salt and pepper, mini hot sauce, mayo, honey, oatmeal topping brownsugar crumbly stuff, numerous goodies to have on hand to make hospital foods palatable] Sometimes they will default to basic yuck foods and won’t bring you condiments in time to eat your food while hot/cold … though some hospitals are actually taking into account you need to actually EAT food to heal and are actually making food palatable again [shout out to Yale New Haven Hospital here!]
If you have someone who can bring you things, then don’t bring anything. If you need something, you can ask your friend to bring it to you.
Sometimes at admission they want to see ID, your insurance, etc. So ask if you will need your wallet.
If you take prescription medications, write down the name, dosage, and how many you take a day. They will be giving you your medications, so be DARN sure their records are up-to-date and correct!
I wish you great success with your treatment, Frank. If you live by yourself, they may release you to a short term rehab center to continue monitored treatment once the primary procedures are complete. Some of the same things apply there.
Do let the Dope know what we can do for you. Even if we’re just a sympathetic ear, we will help.
I’m so sorry to hear this, but I hope you get the good news that it’s treatable. If you’re having trouble eating, I found the clear Ensure to be quite palatable. I had to ask for it specifically as I think it was prescription, but it was two years ago so that may have changed.
Also, if you wear glasses, a hard case for them. If you have contacts don’t even try. Just use your glasses.
A lot depends on whether you have a spouse or similar intending to visit.
If you have a spouse or the like who intends to visit regularly, then it’s not crucial that you think of everything in advance. Just go with what you think of and whatever you find yourself lacking can be brought later. But if you don’t expect that, then you need to plan ahead more thoroughly.
Well at least that would be less likely to get stolen!
When my husband was in the hospital in 2013 for two months due to emergency brain surgery, I found my old 2004 iPod and loaded it up with podcasts for him to listen to. The hospital staff members marveled at the antique.
If you may be there for longer than a couple of weeks, make arrangements to pay your bills while you’re in the hospital, either electronically or by using your bank’s online bill pay service to set up future payments if you can. Bring envelopes and stamps if you can’t set things up electronically - the hospital will have an outgoing mailbox somewhere. Set reminders for your due dates in your phone, because being in the hospital can be very disorienting, and the due dates can catch you off guard.
Lots of good suggestions here. A few I’ll repeat, because they’re important and I like lists:
Advance directives
Medication list
Fiber supplements
Chargers
Chapstick
Gum
Healthy snacks or small bills and change for the vending machine.
Salt and other condiments as allowed by your dietary restrictions.
Toiletries, including a decent razor if you shave anything.
And some I haven’t seen mentioned, which may or may not apply, but if they do, it’s a big deal:
A contact lens case and your solutions.
Spare pair of glasses
A denture case - although to be honest, if you can get away with leaving your dentures at home, do so. Dentures and hearing aids are the most commonly stolen and accidentally thrown out patient belongings in hospitals.
Denture cream and cleaners - no, hospitals don’t stock these.
Ostomy bags, wafers, powders, deodorizing tablets, etc. The headaches of getting any ostomy bags at all, much less the kind that work well for your stoma, are unbelievable at a hospital. You’d assume they’d have that stuff, but it’s shocking how often they don’t, or they only have them on the GI unit, and it’s three days before they can get one to your room on another floor.
You might also want to gather a few delivery menus from local restaurants. Yes, you can get food delivered to you in the hospital. You’re not a prisoner. Please, don’t drive your nurses crazy ordering pizza if you’re on a doctor ordered low-salt, low-fat diet, or a salad if your cancer treatment forbids raw foods, but it’s absolutely your right to eat outside food that meets your ordered diet restrictions.
A bundle of cheap pens. Pens disappear quickly in the hospital. If you’re there for very long, at some point you’ll probably start wanting to take some notes: doctor and staff names, med times, etc.
aruvqan’s suggestion of a lock bag or small lock box is great. Not sure where you’d get one.
