Beating those hospitalization blues - Part II

This is the second part of my post. In case you missed part 1, you can read it here.

The points i am making in this post are concerned with non-critical yet important aspects of the hospital stay.

- Visitors: a source of joy /a source of suffering

There were two distinct phases that i went through, one in which i felt extremely good, almost normal ready to be discharged, and then the very next day back to square one with high fevers, heavy rigors (violent chills). On days when i felt normal i wanted to meet people, as many people as possible. Visitors were welcome, they provided me a connection with the social and professional life i enjoyed when i was outside the hospital. On days when i was sick i just longed for my immediate family, my girlfriend to be around; any other visitor was not welcome. I had one of my aunts, a catholic nun come by and stay for a few days. This lady was someone i was not very comfortable spending time with before due to a difference in philosophies. However having her around providing me spiritual and moral support changed my entire attitude towards visitors in general. I will be eternally grateful to all the people who visited me and helped in maintaining my link with the social life that is so important to me.


- Don't forget to entertain yourself and those around you ! :)
There is nothing that is more effective than a few well cracked jokes at strategic moments to elevate a sagging depressed mood. I had a few doctors from the urology department who had an awesome (and at times downright dirty) sense of humor which served me well :) ... I remember coming out of my first surgery in pain (the local anesthetic was wearing off) and in my delirious state asking my parents to keep me occupied with some form of conversation ultimately ending in a few wise cracks from both ends, a few from my parents and a few from me ... somehow the humor kept me from thinking of the pain. Towards the end of my stay in the hospital, on a day when i was feeling fit enough to walk down to the hospital book shop, i picked up a book - "Laughing With The Bishop" by J. Maurus and excellent source of jokes on the clergy which kept me good company for the rest of my stay in the hospital.

- Faith and spirituality - very helpful tools for theists
I am not a deeply religious person, but i do have faith in the presence of a personal god. In the context of my religion i found the chant of a prayer - the rosary - to have a very soothing effect on my frayed nerves. Besides this, reading the bible was another source of inspiration and strength. I would strongly recommend Psalm91 to anybody who is looking for a source of strength and believes in the healing power of prayer.I would also recommend a lovely book - "A source book of inspiration" by J. Maurus. This book is a good spiritual guide with numerous anecdotes, inspirational quotes and a quintessential dose of humor. Being admitted in a catholic run hospital i had access to a quiet peaceful chapel. When i was fit enough, towards the end of my stay, i made it a point to visit the chapel everyday in the morning for a few minutes and do some quiet meditation.

- For the active professional types/book worms: Sources of distraction
The last and possibly least important aspect of a hospitalization... I am an extremely active professional in a very dynamic and demanding industry (and company within this industry). I have also been a voracious reader, thinker and writer at different points in my life. Sitting idle in the hospital did me no good, so i got myself all the books that were lying on my shelf waiting to be finished (thankful to my parents for hauling them to and fro) and actually finished them. I also got myself a few technical books relevant to my interests and read through them too. Solving puzzles and complex mathematical problems was another source of distraction, though it does come with a caveat, it could be quite taxing mentally and may end up being a source of stress. Overall keeping myself distracted with my books and periods of deep introspection on technical matters helped in reducing the pain.

With this I end a personal account of what i would like to call a "soft reset" period of my life. Its been four months since i have been out and if i know one thing for sure, i never want to see the interiors of a hospital ever again!!!