Saturday, January 18, 2014

Pro and Cons of Hospital Life

We all know being in the hospital is lame. Besides the obvious like being cooped up in a teeny tiny room (especially since it has been sunny and warm in my corner of the world), not having any privacy, control, or loved ones there are other cons that I forgot about since last time I was in the hospital. However, ever the optimist, there are a few perks to the hospital life (and it is not the "free" food). Here is a quick list of my random personal pros and cons to my current hospital stay.

Cons:
  1. Having an audience for treatments: Don't get me wrong I like the RTs, but I always find it awkward to have someone watch me while I cough my brains out, turn red in the face, and spit in a cup.
  2. Pooping: It happens to all of us, but why oh why does someone always walk in 22 seconds after I go number two? I mean, really?!
  3. Sleep: Between patients screaming down the hall (dementia patients?) and nurses coming in the room in the middle of the night to the carts being rolled around outside the door I just can't sleep. In fact, I am pretty sure I slept more the few weeks after my daughter was born and I nursed her every 2 hours than I have slept in the past four night.

Pros:
  1. No Responsibility: I find home IVs somewhat exhausting. Waking through the night to do infusions, setting timers for meds, making time for therapy all while cooking, cleaning, and being a mom. It is nice to have someone else keep track of times and meds and therapy.
  2. Selfishness: When you become a mother you lose the right to be selfish. You have another human who depends on you 100% so you often come second or third or fourth. The nice part about being in the hospital is that everyone, including yourself, is focused 100% on getting YOUR health back to where it needs to be. 
  3. Improvement: I am finding that I am feeling better much faster than when I do home IVs, but that is probably because I do my Vest 4x/day for 30 minutes plus percussion 4x/day for 20 minutes, and I bike 2-3x/day for 30 minutes. That is about 4 1/2 hours of airway clearance (not including nebs and meds) a day. There is no way I would get that type of therapy at home, but shhhh, don't tell my doc.

4 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're feeling better. Be more selfish when you get home, if you can - you can't take care of your daughter if you're not well. Calling it 'selfish' isn't even the right word. Don't think I'm scolding you - I know how hard it is with little babies around, I had my 3rd when my 1st was only 5. I finally got some help at that point in order to stay sane. Your challenges are much different, but still, think of yourself, too. Looking back, I wish I had gotten more support, and created a more balanced & happy home during those baby years.

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    1. Three kids under six must have been a challenge! I know that asking and accepting help is not something I am good at. Thanks for the reminder that I need to work on that aspect of motherhood and life in general!

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  2. Good list! As far as sleeping in the hospital I find that using a white noise machine/website all night long (on loud) really helps me sleep through the normal racket. I use simplynoise.com and usually do oscillating brown noise on high volume on my computer. Lulls me right to sleep...that is until phlebotomy comes in at 3am for some lab draws.

    Hope your numbers improve quickly!

    Also, insanely jealous that your corner of the world is warm and sunny. BOO. I am so over living in a place that is cold.

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    1. I kept thinking that I wished I brought my white noise machine, but my daughter and hubby are addicted to it too. I didn't even think about using my computer. I am so using that website tonight, thanks!!

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