If you have ever needed to stay in the hospital for an extended amount of time, chances are you probably got bored. After my stem cell transplant last May, I was stuck in isolation for 154 days until my blood counts came up. If I got a fever when I had my port in, I also had to wait it out in the hospital until my immune system was stronger. Other times I had to be inpatient when chemo was especially tough or had to be flushed out of my system quickly.
Granted, most of the time I was in the hospital I didn’t feel that great and wanted to just sleep to try to take my mind off the nausea, pain or side effects I had from treatment, but other times being in the hospital just felt like a whole lot of waiting around. This is why I have thought of things to do pass time (since hospitals are notorious for having bad cell phone reception).
Ways to Beat Boredom in a Hospital stay!
- Check out the StupidCancer.org and Like us on Facebook
- Subscribe to Stupid Cancer Show iTunes Podcast
- Pick a new TV series on a website like Netflix or Hulu and start at season 1
- Watch Movies! The hospital may even lend you your favorites or movies you have never watched before.
- Ask your nurse if she can set up an activity to do with other patients of the same age or diagnosis
- Play a classic board or card game with a visitor or roommate for example: Apples to Apples, Jenga, Scattergories, Scrabble or Cranium
- Start a book series or read the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
- Do a craft or scrapbook. I learned to knit and make all kinds of bracelets and key chains
- Get a crossword puzzle book or Sudoku book
- Play games online or on a hand held game system
Hopefully you will find a way to keep busy so your stay does’t seem so long!
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