Hospitals can be big, scary places. I had a friend tell me one time that she didn't like going to hospitals, even to visit, because hospitals were where people went to die.
Many have taken their children, parents or friends to the hospital pediatric ward, emergency room or nursery and found them to be bustling hives full of sick and injured people being transported through the halls on gurneys at top speeds. No wonder the patients are terrorized, but so are friends, family and clergy, anyone who visits the patients in these halls of the ailing. The sad fact is that if you have a friend in the hospital who would really prefer jail stay, you need to visit them to spread at least a modicum of cheer.
1) Visit. Often. The worst thing about being in the hospital is the horrible isolation that goes along with it. When my oldest son was about two he spent a week in pediatrics being treated for a respiratory infection. I stayed at the hospital with him, and during that week the only people I saw were his nurses, his doctors and volunteer that brought the therapy dogs through. Since he was too sick to go down to the playroom, the loneliness drove us both a little nuts. Company was very, very welcome.
2) Send something to do. Right after loneliness, comes boredom. Or maybe before. The point is, when you're lonely and bored in the hospital the best gift you can get is something to help alleviate the boredom. Books, puzzle books, movies (if there's a DVD player in the room), small, handheld video games (especially for kids) and art sets and crafts are perfect for whiling away your time when you're stuck inside those same four walls for days or weeks on end.
3) Come bearing gifts of food. Hospital food has a very bad reputation and worse, its reputation is deserved. Hospital food might as well be Gerber's baby food for infants, not even toddlers. Snacks are not brought to patients by their caregivers as these good people are supposed to closely monitor their patient's food intake. Well, fine, but no patient is going to survive on pureed peas, so bring something really tasty. No matter what the health squad says, your friend will be better for it and you will be his hero.
4) Listen. No, nobody wants to hear about how dehumanizing treatment in the hospital can be. You feel like a pincushion by the time you're done. You really want to go home. It starts feeling like a mantra after a while. But let them talk. They need to, and it'll help you both feel better by the time they're done.
5) Talk. They want to know what's going on out in the outside world, I promise. It's incredibly reassuring, just knowing that there's still life outside of the hospital.
When you seriously think about it, the best thing that can be done for a friend and their family while hospitalized is to preserve some sense of normalcy. This gives them a semblance of real life, and when they finally get sprung from the hospital, they can get right back to their life along with their sanity.
Herni has worked for years to help children get the best medical care for difficult deseases.
In the event you found interest in the previous piece, it is easy to go and look at other comparable writing at Henri Degre or this Henri Degre Site.
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