Six Ways to Keep Yourself Busy In The Hospital

It's not everyday you get to stay in the hospital, and most hospitals are far from luxurious. However everyone at some point in their lifetime spends at least one visit in the hospital, whether it be surgery, illness, or cancer treatment. Let's face it-hospital time is boring. Time seems to move very slowly. What are some tips to help the time pass?

I have done my share of time in the hospital after being diagnosed with placental cancer, choriocarcinoma, 

from a complete molar pregnancy. Every other week was inpatient chemotherapy and I got to know those hospital walls very well. Watching television eventually got boring. I found myself beginning to ponder over things I could actually accomplish in this down-time. What were some things that needed to get done or things wanted to do?

1. Pack a chemo bag, with:
Necessities:

• • snacks, sanitizers, tissues, clothes, and masks.

Entertainment:

• • puzzles, paper and pen for owed letters to family or friends, reading materials and books, tablet with charger, and a list of things to search or videos to watch via internet over the hospital wifi.

Tasks:

• • I even found in my bag bills and other materials that needed attention or research, normally taken care of if at home. My chemo bag was a mini office. During this downtime, why not take care of business like emails and replies? The world doesn't stop on account of injury or sickness.

2. Pick up a new hobby.

• • Other ideas to help eat up time include crafts and hobbies such as knitting, crocheting, coloring, board games, playing cards, and creative writing. Is there something that needs to be finished? Is there some craft you've always wanted to try? Now just might be the time to take it up.

3. Get Moving.

• • If you're able, take a stroll down the hospital halls, visiting the nurses' station. Most nurses are happy to have a chat and even happier to see their patients walking around. If you're lucky enough to have a room window, sit by it for a glimpse of the outside world. I've spent many hours watching the world go by, seeing people come and go, even watching a bird try to nest on my window ledge.

4. Decorate your room.

• • There are a lot of fun and creative banners from retailers that you can purchase to make your room come alive. One DIY solution would be to simply take a clothesline or piece of string, attach it to each wall end, and hang up photographs and artwork that you love by using clothespins.

5. Set up a netflix account.

• • Do not underestimate the variety of titles that netflix has streaming. Get hooked on a new series, or watch a documentary and learn something you've never known before. And it doesn't limit to netflix- you can set up an HBOGo account, Hulu, or any others that catch your interest!

6. Talk to others.

• • You don't have to be physically capable of walking around the entire hospital in order to talk to someone else. Anyone who passes by, or who you encounter on a regular basis, is a chance to learn about someone new. And this isn't limited to face-to-face interaction. Connecting online with others like you is made easy with online communities.