Many people, upon hearing that I’m stuck in my hospital room 24 hours a day for several weeks, assume that I’m bored most of the time. I’m always surprised by this assumption because I find that the opposite is true! Whenever I have periods of “free time” (i.e. whenever doctors, nurses, physical therapy, occupational therapy, the pain team, recreational therapy, the dietician, psychiatry, or one of the many other teams isn’t in the room, which is rare), I’m usually faced with too many options of what to do with myself! I sheepishly admit that I make to-do lists for these periods of free time so I’ll be the most productive ;). One of my nurses asked me what my plans were for today and I started running through the list I had made this morning, which included balancing the checkbook, getting a massage (hopefully), writing a few emails, exercising, making a couple phone calls, looking through the Sunday coupons and ads, and working on my mom’s yearbook pages. She burst out laughing because apparently her question was asked half-jokingly ;). But just because I’m stuck in here doesn’t mean I have to waste away in a bed, losing brain cells by the minute!
As a person with quite a bit of experience with staying in the hospital, I have found that when you lie in bed all day, the time passes so much more slowly than when you’re finding things to do, even if those things are the most simple and basic, such as taking a shower or reading a magazine. It may not make sense if you haven’t stayed in the hospital for a long period of time, but it’s very tempting to do nothing while you’re here, partly because you probably feel pretty sick and partly because, let’s face it, the hospital can be a rather depressing place. But the more you push yourself to do “normal” things, the more normal and therefore happy and even healthy you’ll feel.
Zack actually made me promise to “rest” today. You may think that’s funny, though if you know me well you aren’t surprised! But since writing requires a fair amount of thought, I should probably end this post. My mission: get bored.
Rest (what Zack told you to do) and be bored are not the same thing. Some of my best thoughts - productive ideas - have happened when I was sleeping (or at least I woke with the idea on the tip of my tongue)....so rest up....so you will be even more productive! Love your attitude. It shines for all of us. XO
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. This past year has taught me the value of "rest," though I still have to be frequently reminded, which Zack is really good at :).
ReplyDeleteSo, what's today's list? :-)
ReplyDeleteGiven I've been a patient for a long period of time and am an occupational therapist, your posts make me laugh.
ReplyDelete1. If you have a to do list of daily activities, what is left for the O.T. to do???? What are the OT's having you do anyway-truly curious.
2. I conquered my boredom when my M.D. brought me in his sheep spotting scope. I was able to view lots of things to say the least. Some better than others, but the best was the lunar eclipse. In fact, my sister brought in my sewing machine; I felt right at home.
Mostly, loved watching and laughing at Grover on Sesame Street especially as he tried to do chin-ups with no muscles and skinny little arms; I laugh about that to this day and we are talking over 30 years ago.
3. As for the pain thing-get a dart board with numbers on it; as you say, it's all relative!
Love and Hugs, Diana
Diana, I know you can relate more than most!! To answer your question about the OT, initially she gave me a lot of handouts about exercise and self-care, but she just checks in at this point. She told me last week that I'm her easiest and most motivated patient! lol
ReplyDeleteI can totally see Becky as the most motivated patient :D
ReplyDeleteNot surprised in the least.
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