Surviving the hospital stay

Several persons have sent me private messages in regards to my comments, giving me even more interesting experiences.

They however felt that their experiences were not ski related.

Yes this is a "fitness" section, but one aspect of fitness is getting back on feet to ski! To do that you must learn to survive the hospital stay!

I urge all those who wrote to me to share their experiences and possible "survival techniques"

For example one that I used was the following. I hate being the patient in 13-C. My name is PAVEL! I wanted to hear, "Good Morning Pavel" So my grand-children drew a great picture with a name under it! It was posted over my bed!
It made nurses, physicians, physios, etc... call me Pavel! They did!

I also asked, before anyone touched me, "and what is your name and what do you do?"

I became human to them!

Please share your experiences.

Tehehe I don't know if this is a legal posting but, I pasted the time in Austria by pulling rocks out of my wounds and flicking them over another patient and out the window :D After reading Pavel's stuff I decided to have more fun. Make sure you have access to a button down shirt 1. Prevents them from ripping/cutting your shirts opens. 2. When you've gotta whiz you've got something that will cover you ass. 'nother good tip maybe to take critical drugs with you, you don't know if you'll need access to them. Hell they may need to have an intern drive from Schwaz, Austria to Innsbruck (yes that did happen)

I'm pleased to see the thread on health. The advice on hospitals is right on! I spent 21 days there with my neck & throat cancer, 3 days in an intensive care burn unit with 14 tubes stuck in me! I had no way to talk (a tracheotomy was done) and was under heavy sedation - time was lost to me.

I wish to post some of my experiences at Paval urging. I don’t wish need to scare the innocent or to solicit criticism from the "experts" so I’ll tread softly. I have some vivid memories of my hospital time and your message was good for those going under knee surgery. I hope my comments help

I took my cuddly Teddy Bear with me. Yup I know I was 53 years old but the action was intended to be a conversation piece for the nursing staff many of who were much my junior. It just so happens that the bear is also a symbol of healing to the Indians around here. I figured it couldn't hurt. My bear worked. I received alot of various responses from the staff. Nigel (my bear ) was cuddled and flattered galor. The staff were set at ease. We had something to talk about that wasn’t about my condition - a diversion as it were. My bear had a matching housecoat to mine. My wife had made both the bear and the house coats some time earlier, she’s artsy/craftsy that way. We looked quite the pair wandering the halls pushing the IV tree together both clad in blue plush housecoats.

A second point on this. I asked all staff to "sign in" on the white board that was in my room when their shifts started. After a time you don't know who's helping you at any particular moment as the days disappear without windows. I had surgical interns, several surgical teams passing through my room daily doing rounds. I had nutritional staff. I had respiratory staff. I had nursing staff and nursing interns. The number of people passing through my room after 21 days was staggering. I lost track of who was who. The sign up board helped me to recall their names and personalize the help.

I learned much from the staff. I asked one nurse how she handled the sick people all of the time she responded “It’s part of life, the suffering, it shows we are human and alive” She was a real angel of mercy. It’s difficult to sometimes accept the help of others especially strangers .

These two things allowed me to address many of the staff by name and personalized my time with them. Any way it worked for me.

Access to "dossier" or physician protocol!

All patients have access to their physician protocol. Thus you can see what MUST be done!

Often however your are tied down, with tubes, wires and etc.... So I gave my wife "legal permission" to view my file! This was a simple letter signed by lawyer and witness.

Believe me it is very important to "keep you up to date"

In my case I was to have pain killers ( morphine) at will! This means when I wanted some!

Many many nurses thought I was on a two hour schedule and often said, "you have to wait 20 minutes" So I was able to quote where on protocol it mentioned morphine at will! At 3 AM it saved me from having a long long long painful night!

Get someone to act on your behalf!