Stupid questions for a story - what's it like being the hospital for days?

[Silvercat]

I've got a character who is in the hospital after being in a car crash. At the moment, I mostly need to know what it's like to be in a hospital, aside from boring. Basically, anything (I haven't been in a hospital since I was a wee munchkin, and the only person I know who has recently I don't talk to).

She'd also like to get out as soon as possible, because she has magic healing tech at home. The plan is for her husband to come get and take her home (and supposedly to another doctor) against medical advice. Any specifics on that would be helpful too.

Here's what I've written, all of which can change as needed:
- She fainted after the car crash, then was in surgery (it's a small town so there wasn't as much of a line), then had anterograde amnesia for a bit, then was asleep. So she's woken up about a day after the crash not quite sure what's going on.

- Injuries: Concussion, both ankles broken, right femur, lacerations from glass, cracked rib, abdominal trauma (I haven't decided exactly what).

Thanks for the help.

[Geek King]

You got the boring bit. But you also don't sleep well. The staff has to do checks on you on a regular basis, and they will wake you up to do so if needed. There is also noise all night, even if you don't have a roommate. Mine was constantly trying to wheedle more drugs out of the nurses, argueing when they wouldn't give more than the doc set, and left his TV on. All. The. Time. I actually got my dad to pick me up some earplugs so I could sleep. I didn't get a straight 8 hours until after I came home.

The hospital I was in has internet and some limited cable to pass the time if you have a laptop. Some of my friends even brought me some fansubs of the new anime shows, so I watched those too. I also got a lot of games played via Steam.

[trailerparkmedic]

If she's in a small town and has serious enough injuries to warrant same day surgery, she likely would be sent to a bigger hospital that can handle more complicated cases. I work in a hospital that provides the highest level of trauma care and we get lots of patients sent to us from all over the area, both directly from the scene of an accident, and also from a smaller hospital. A broken femur is a BIG deal and very life threatening. That definitely warrants a transfer to a trauma center. Most abdominal trauma I see is fairly bad--your liver holds 25% of your blood.

If an ER patient wants to leave against medical advice (AMA), I try to discourage them. If they're insistent and even the doctor can't convince them, I print out a form for them to sign and give them directions to the exit. From what I understand, insurance will not cover your visit if you leave AMA, so there is that to consider.

[Kogarashi]

My only extended hospital stay was after a C-section, and I'm sure a lot of things are different, but here's what I had.

The hospital I went to had really good food and a decent cable selection, though depending on the time of day and your personal preferences the pickings can still be rather slim. Doctors still had to come in at regular intervals to check up on me (bathroom checks, checking the incision site, checking fluids on the IV, etc.). The biggest reason I didn't sleep well was because I had a brand new baby who wanted to eat every two hours, and was having trouble getting the whole nursing thing down.

I also didn't do well coming off of the general anesthesia they had to use (emergency C-section), so I was fairly narcoleptic for the first 2.5 days of the 4-day stay. It was tricky eating, because I'd take a bite or two and then nod off for fifteen minutes. By the time I was able to finish a meal, it was two hours later and the food was cold. I finally got some proper sleep the third day when the nurse took the baby to the nursery, helped me lay my bed flat, and shooed my husband out of the room. I needed help rolling onto my side, though, thanks to the abdominal surgery.

Mostly in my case it was a lot of boredom, snoozing, and TV-watching interspersed with checkups by nurses and doctors.

[Teskeria]

They wake you up to make sure you are sleeping ok. They wake you up to take your blood. The other patients wake you up yelling or screaming if they are in a lot of pain (or are just jerks). they wake you up checking on your roommate. They wake you up so the doctor or a class of nursing students can inspect your injuries. The food is edible although they seem to feel you should eat as much as you do when totally active, even through you haven't much of an appetite. You have no privacy at all. It really is very boring.
For the 3 months I was in the hospital, my ex (we were still married then) brought in a small tv and our Nintendo and the games. And friends and relatives brought a ton of books being as I can read 8-10 300+ page books in an average day, including working 8 hours. and I was still bored. and exhausted as you don't get much sleep.
The nurses and esp a particular Nurses aide, Mary, were wonderful. When it was time for me to leave, I made sure my husband brought a couple boxes of candy and a basket of fruit (not everyone likes or can eat candy) for the staff.

[Silvercat]

A broken femur is a BIG deal and very life threatening. That definitely warrants a transfer to a trauma center. Most abdominal trauma I see is fairly bad--your liver holds 25% of your blood.

Actually, my bad. I meant tibia (it's a good thing I'm not a doctor. )

Can I get some specifics of what the nurse check ups are like? What are they checking?

[kpzra]

Your vital signs that are on the monitor, IV fluid level, check to make sure the IV is still good, every other time they took my temp. They may also put the BP cuff on if it isn't already. Just a general look see to make sure there also isn't a big puddle of blood on the floor.

I was in the hospital for 6 days after my c-section and I was BORED. TV sucked, there was no nursery so my daughter was in the room the whole time, I couldn't sleep, and they wouldn't take me off the stupid liquid diet. It would have been fine if they had actually given me the broth and not just 2 cups of hot water...but I digress.

You can check out AMA but it's a pain. Lots of paperwork and they drag their feet while trying to get you to change your mind. I can close when the nurse who almost killed me tried to touch me and my daughter. With those injuries she won't be walking, so keep that in mind. What about hardware they may have installed?

[Ghel]

I was in the hospital for about a month following an auto accident. This was, oh, about 10 years ago. I broke 4 vertebrae and had an emergency laminectomy the same day. 1 day in ER, 3 days in recovery, then I was transfered to a longer-term care facility, where I stayed about 3 weeks.

It sounds like your character slept (or was unconscious) through the parts I remember on the first day: cursory exam at the first hospital, an hour ambulance ride to the second, xrays, mri, steroids to reduce swelling, and finally surgery.

But after that, it was boring. Because of my injuries, I wasn't allowed to sit at an incline of more than 30% without the "turtle shell" on. I watched a lot of tv. I didn't lose the boredom until I got access to a wheelchair. Then I spent all of my time in the patients' computer room, where there was internet access. (That was more than a week in, though. I don't know if your character is staying that long.)

I, too, remember being woken up in the middle of the night to check vital signs. Food was bland and boring. I wasn't allowed liquids for the first several hours, then a liquid diet the first day, iirc.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I watched a lot of tv. I didn't lose the boredom until I got access to a wheelchair. Then I spent all of my time in the patients' computer room, where there was internet access. (That was more than a week in, though. I don't know if your character is staying that long.)

Food was bland and boring.

Going to echo a lot of this, not from personal experience, but vicariously via my mother, who has periodic cellulitis flare-ups in her legs and has to go into the hospital for antibiotics.

When we bought her a Macbook for her birthday, shortly before she checked in one year, I took the time to set it up for her and brought it to the hospital so she could at least get online.

On her most recent trip, I swung by Arby's and got her some food from there so she didn't have to rely on bland hospital food that day.

Mom was always grateful for the things we did for her/brought her to help alleviate the boredom.

[Silvercat]

Fortunately she's got an e-reader with a ton of books on it. And a semi-imaginary friend she can talk to (her: 'what time is it now?' it: 'five minutes later than last time.' her: 'now?' it: 'stop it.' her: 'what's Peter doing?' it: 'worrying about you. and staring at the computer screen.' her: 'I'm bored.' it: 'no, really?!')

[trailerparkmedic]

Post concussion, she'll need neuro checks every 4 hours around the clock for at least a day or two. That involves figuring out how awake she is (what's the day? who are you? where are you?), shining a light in her eyes, having her move her hands and legs. They'll probably be checking the pulses in her feet & pinching her toes every 4 hours to begin with. Depending on how sick she is, she'll need vital signs every 4, 8 or 12 hours. When she's awake, they'll be bugging her to practice deep breathing with a plastic thingy. Most of the rest of the checks will be much less visible, like checking the IV site.

[kpzra]

Ugh, I had forgotten about the damn deep breathing exercise tube. She'd also probably have a catheter since both legs are out of order, so that would be checked for content amount, color, and be drained if full.

[Silvercat]

She'd also probably have a catheter since both legs are out of order, so that would be checked for content amount, color, and be drained if full.

Oh, that'll embarrass the hell out of her. Muahahaha.

[Aria]

It's boring. Really, really, REALLY boring. The TV sucks and there's no books unless someone brings them to you, no video games, naturally no computer... I had a potted plant. It was the worst three days of my life.

However, this would have been twenty years ago. I don't know if it's changed, but boring is still a good bet.

Edited to add: Nevermind, I see you got the boring. XD I will say the food was quite nice and so were the nurses.

[Kogarashi]

Can I get some specifics of what the nurse check ups are like? What are they checking?

Your vital signs that are on the monitor, IV fluid level, check to make sure the IV is still good, every other time they took my temp. They may also put the BP cuff on if it isn't already. Just a general look see to make sure there also isn't a big puddle of blood on the floor.

Vitals, catheter if necessary, etc. For my hospital stays (three babies, one of them a C-section), vitals were basically temperature, blood pressure, heartbeat, checking that the IVs were still good, and that I wasn't dead. They were far enough apart that I could still sleep a semi-decent amount at night (not counting the craziness of the C-section stay). With the C-section, they also checked on the catheter stuff, and inspected the incision to make sure it was healing up nicely and not showing signs of infection.

Sounds like hospital food depends on the hospital, and possibly which section and which meal requirement. The hospital where I delivered my three children had great food, even the liquid diet, but that may have been them pampering the maternity ward. Hubby did note that when he and my older girls got lunch in the cafeteria after my most recent childbirth, that their food was rather lackluster in comparison to what the "room service" provided me. So make the food as interesting or bland as you need to for your story.