A Hospital Diary
There’s always a silver lining in hardships.
My mom is such a positive person. She always sees the positive side of things even when her life is extremely challenging. Everyone around her said that she’s the most patient woman they’ve ever met. I couldn’t agree more because even now, she told me to think that we’re in a mini picnic. She told me that maybe my Thailand and Laos trip taught me how to live with a lot of people in a cramped space. Inside the hospital, we lived with 5 other patients and their family. There’s only one bathroom to share with them and one AC in the middle. It’s not the most comfortable setting but at least my dad’s space is right below AC. So, though during the day it can be a little hot, during the evening it can be living like inside a giant freezer.
‘ See, your hostel experience paid off,’ my mom said.
While I grew up pretty much comfortable, the most uncomfortable experiences I have felt were as an adult when I started living on my own. My parents managed to shelter me from inconvenience and hardships since I was a kid. But thanks to my adventures that I did, I know how to navigate living with others and full of uncertainties. So being surrounded by a lot of people makes me feel OK and I am okay with this phase of life.
Since now my mom and I live in the hospital taking care of my adoptive dad, we didn’t get the chance to go back home much. The hospital also has a strict visitor policy that only one person is allowed to be inside. But during visitation hours, anyone is free to roam around the hospital. So, every morning before 7 AM, we cleaned our mattresses that we used to sleep on and we started our day from there.
We would have breakfast at around 5 AM and wait for the doctor to do their rounds in my dad’s room. Then, I would go outside at around 9 AM to 4PM, during which time I either find a nearby cafe to work from and open my laptop, go home to wash clothes and or buy supplies for my mom and dad at the hospital.
To be fair, both me and my mom are quite sleep deprived. We can’t sleep well because sometimes the doctor came late at night to do their rounds or sometimes my dad asked for assistance to do things. In the past few days we had been taking rounds to rest. Usually my mom sleeps first then I sleep next. We make sure that someone is awake just in case my dad needs anything.
The first day at the hospital was pretty rough.
I only got to eat something like this, a blob of rice with just sausage I got from a convenience store. It was the only thing I ate for the last 24 hours. It was such a hectic day and there was paper works to do as well.
But the next day, as I got adjusted with the area, I came to know some eatery spots selling affordable meals. So, I started buying some meals from there and finally ate a proper meal with my mom.
During the day and when I am at a cafe, I just have coffee and stay until around 2-3 hours. Thankfully, there are many coworking friendly cafes around the hospital within a 20 minutes walk. It’s nice to sit down at a proper place and do the things I need to do. Yesterday, I visited Coffee Matters. It's a nice cafe that’s a bit far but sells delicious coffee and is not too expensive. While I haven’t used their Wifi, I remembered it isn’t too shabby.
These days I also have to report to my aunt and my grandma, so whenever I am at a cafe, I usually talk to them about my dad’s condition and updates. My aunt is my dad’s older sister who convinced my dad to finally go to the ER. At first, my dad was afraid about how much it would cost but I assured him too that he doesn’t have to think about it that much. He eventually agreed and from there we knew his terminal illness.
Today, I also walked to the nearest coffee shop, apparently my favorite place in town is nearby, so I just walked there and got some time to be with myself. I told my mom that I look like dora the explorer with my 35lt bag that I carried around. I also told her that I might hit my weight goal pretty soon if I keep up with walking to places and not caring about anything.
Besides, around the hospital the pavement is also pedestrian friendly and it’s nice to have a walk. Back in the days, I usually walked around the area for my morning jog with my mom. So I am a bit familiar with the space. As I am getting a lot more adjusted, I also try to get active on hive again and manage @hivebookclub that basically was halted when I was busy with funerals and going back and forth to the hospital. I know hive things can wait but it feels odd to me to stay too long from it.
Anyway, this is my hospital days diary! I can’t wait to tell you all about the fun stories that I got from inside the hospital and things that I find amusing while I stay inside.
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 |
This shows us what a positive, resilient and adaptive person you are. It's a tough time to go through for you all, but sounds like you and your Mum have your coping strategies and each other, and your Dad is lucky to have you both. May you have strength, humour, and each other to navigate this tricky time.
It's been tough 2 weeks and hell-ish but now I feel a lot better. There were moments where I almost gave up but with all the positive encouragement and support, feels like I can go through it all. Thank you @riverflows, I hope you have a great day.
I understand what you must have gone through fixing your meal and how you were able to get a restaurant nearby.. Sometimes things like this happens and they are not easy to cub..Hope your work and stay in the area continue to improve the more as you continue to sourjour there.
Thanks!
You are welcome
I wish I can send my parents into a regular checkup and to tell to my parents that too " they doesn't need to think how much it cost" . because here in our country it is expensive to have a check up by a doctor.🤗Greetings
Without any insurance, any medical check up would be expensive here. I still remember when I cried in the middle of the night inside a hospital because I was short on money. Thankfully, both of my parents are insured but there are still partially money that we need to spend on, especially on treatments that aren't covered by the insurance. I hope you can send your parents to medical check up without any worries in the future.
I love that you are focusing on the light in the dark and taking everything as a learning Mac, it is true you are very risky in your travels and without realizing it you must have learned a lot about how to adapt to places and people in different situations, which is very useful right now in the hospital stay.
On the other hand you must also have gotten used to sleeping in uncomfortable places and you actually have a particular sleep schedule, so all everything you learned is working for you now.
I know you say your dad looks like he won't heal, but at least I hope he can get better, so he can get out of there and spend his last happy days at home. Strength @macchiata, I hug you, you're doing great!
You're so right, by now I can sleep anywhere and get a quality of sleep. I guess it's such a win-win.I've been so exhausted but now recovering slowly. When the funeral ended and a lot of my family went away, I felt clearer. It was much easier to think and I get the strength to go through it. Thank you for always encouraging me dalla, I really mean it.
Ahh, I remember when Mom was admitted to the hospital because of high blood and she had gone through a lot too. I was left at home though because I was studying. I am also having a hard time making a decision if I should enroll on the next sem because Mom really spent a lot on the hospital.
But anyways, being positive during this hard time is what we should really do no, though it is really hard. I salute your Mom for being so optimistic right now. I can tell how awesome of a person she is base on this. And I hope you are okay I hooe too that you have more strength rn to take it all ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
I think if you have the means, you should. Medical expenses is always not cheap and I had experience with my biological dad. It drained a lot of my savings too. My mom is generally a positive person, she has been through a lot and a lot more resilient that I am. She's definitely my role model. Thank you for your encouragement @ruffatotmeee
It must really be tough to go through it all, but amidst of that you stand firm and strong! I'm so proud of you! And the coffee looks so good ❤️
Hello dear friend @macchiata
I am very sorry for what you are going through, it is never easy when you have a loved one in the hospital. The sacrifice one makes to care for and accompany a sick person can be very tiring.
A great relief is having the company and positivity of your mother, who together managed to deal with the illness of your loved one. Stay strong dear friend
What an interesting experience, so far I have not had to sleep in a hospital because of family issues, I imagine that some day I will have to, good that you are supporting your mom and dad, family is what you need the most in those moments, I hope everything works out as it can get better, thank you very much for sharing this experience, I hope to see the post where you tell all the situations that happened to you.
I am sorry that you lived a hospital experience and that your father passed away, they are some of the hardest things in life, but I know it was worth all the effort, the lack of sleep, the bad food and the tiredness, in the end love in those circumstances keeps us on our feet and when the storm passes and we are recovering it feels nice. @macchiata
This time is very distressing for children when they can't take care of their parents and when children don't have money for their medicines, these things make a person very sad inside and Man cannot do anything there, after working hard day and night, man cannot earn enough money to do all things at once.