Hospital Lessons

I spent the last week in the hospital for a mysterious abdominal infection. It's still not cleared up (and I'm still pretty ill), but I've been sent home with oral antibiotics to clear up the infection so that the next round of CTs and MRIs and Ultrasounds will actually show something besides pus and fluid and we might be able to sort out the actual cause of the infection.

Here are some things I learned:

1. Don't tell hospital staff you have any food allergies, unless they are life threatening. It will seriously limit your diet, even in ways that don't make any sense.

2. It is totally your right in any situation at any time to have as much time to think as you feel you need, and to refuse anything that anyone wants to do to your body.

3. How you treat someone has a huge impact on how they receive what you are saying, how willing they are to listen to what you have to say later, and how difficult it is for them to interact with you on pretty much any level on any subject.

4. Getting things through an IV can make you smell and taste stuff.

5. Hospitals are sadly lacking in the two main basics of health; rest and nutrition.

6. Be clear and open about what you want and need, even if you think it's already been indirectly addressed.