They give you these large ice bags that hang on either side of your head. These will come in handy while at the hospital. However they are very cumbersome and do not rest well on your face. I highly suggest you get the jaw wraps from the zip and squeeze people along with the bags. Each of the bags has a tie at each of the 4 corners. When they first give them to you they just tie the top 4 together and the bottom 4 together. This leaves a large knot at the top of your head which slides on and off your head too easily. I found over time that it worked best to tie the front top two together tightly so they rest above your forehead and the back top 2 together so they rest near the back of your head on top. This allows more of a ring around the top of the head to support it. This also allows the bags to rest more on the front of your face and not across the ears. For the bottom you just want to tie as tight as possible. I suggest bringing something to hold the two pieces across your mouth so the bags rest on your cheeks. Something like a safety pin, a jaw wrap, or a scarf will work. The ice is a little chunky so make sure you knead it before applying it.
The other thing I highly suggest is one of those U shaped travel pillows. With all that heavy ice hanging from your head you need something to support your neck. I kept trying to tuck the pillow under my neck and tilt my head up. Later I got this pillow and it worked wonders. For the hospital I suggest you turn the pillow upside down. So the bottom of the U is under your neck and the legs of the U are at your ears. This will keep your neck supported and hold up the ice as well. The travel pillow I have has a little zipper in the back so I could remove stuffing if it was too big.
I also brought with me a large stuffed fluffy cat. This served two purposes. He brought me comfort but also served as a good place to rest the arm that had the IV. Originally it was in mt left arm under my elbow. This spot was eroded and started pumping into the skin not the vein. they moved the IV to my right hand. The little kitty supported my hand in his nice cushy belly. A small travel pillow will also do the trick.
You should also bring your syringe-like feeder thing. This will help with the water, juice, and soup broth they bring for "dinner". You are so swollen and out of it nothing else really works at this point.
You might as well go to the hospital dressed in your PJs are something else comfy to go home in. You will not really get a chance to change into anything else until you leave. I never touched my robe or slippers.
They provide ointment for your lips 3 times a day but if you want it more often I suggest Aquaphor and some Qtips to apply.
Recap of what you should pack for the hospital:
- U-shaped travel pillow
- Scarf/jaw wrap/pin
- Mirror (to see the damage and apply lip stuff)
- Ipod/earbuds (I suggest the Detaching the World, all volumes, acoustic guitar for massage and relaxation)
- Aquaphor and qtips
- Small travel pillow (rectangular)
- Syringe feeder
- Your fav juice (they bring you apple, grape, cran)
- Something cozy to go home in
No comments:
Post a Comment