Some things that got me through - and may help you
Thank you for so many kind comments after my post about spending time in hospital as a result of Covid-19. I'm so grateful that it proved useful to so many people, and as well as the things suggested in that last post, I hope this second post answers some of the many questions I've had from people worried about being admitted themselves, or for their relatives. And that some of these links might help you - they seem quite trivial but sometimes the little things make all the difference because they are what we can actually control. And just as reassurance, I'm on the mend now. Here I am outside in my garden yesterday:
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Yes, I could take my phone with me. I'm not sure if this is the rule for all hospitals now, but it was a definite comfort blanket because it was a way of keeping in touch with home as I obviously had no visitors. Luckily one of the paramedics who took me to hospital told me to take my charger, otherwise I wouldn't have thought about it. Looking back, it feels almost funny that I took my phone charger but not my toothbrush or anything useful. However, the hospital provided me with a plastic toothbrush and sachets of toothpaste, shower gel and shampoo. I didn't brush my hair for the whole time I was there but I don't think anyone cared. I certainly didn't.
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I have had so many questions about breathing and I keep having to repeat that I'm not an expert - what's true is that when you are in this situation, suddenly everything you take for granted somehow feels more difficult. Now I'm recovering I'm finding this youtube video by a Qigong teacher called Peter Deadman so helpful - I can't remember who passed it on to me, but thank you.
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There wasn't much nature around in my hospital room funnily enough. But I started to hunger for it, so I listened to birdsong recordings and watched bird videos again and again. There are lots out there, but these two were ones I found and which really helped me.
The different birdsongs from the British Library website here.
And this one was just lovely and long so I didn't have to keep pressing anything - here
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Feeling grateful at this time felt so counter-intuitive but I know how important it can be from my work in writing and wellbeing. So when I was ready - and I did have to work through resistance! - I made gratitude lists in my head. Small things at first then bigger and bigger then in no order at all - the jug of water by my bed, the oxygen I was on, the nursing staff who were keeping me on track, the scientists who invented all the machines I was plugged into, the person who had thought of painting on of the walls bright green, having nurses and doctors from the Phillipines, Kerala, all over the world - even one from the same street as me... I can't tell you how much it helped.
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Another thing that kept me going was singing to myself. Now, I'm not a singer, perhaps this was an advantage of being in isolation, but I would recommend knowing the words to a song or hopefully two. You can even pick something a little more sophisticated than mine which ended up being Wind the Bobbin Up! This was partly because I'd received this beautiful video of my little grandson listening to his uncle Joe play it to him just before I went in. I sang it again and again, using all the gestures - even pointing to the window and the door, the ceiling and the floor. There was definitely something about the containment of getting to the end of a song, and also the rhythm that was so soothing. I'm not sure if I can listen to it again for a little while though.
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And lastly, I've been interested in how my point about being careful about the messages you send has resonated with so many others who've similarly spent time in hospital. I want to make clear that I did love getting messages, I just didn't have the energy to respond, or even actually read them especially if they were long. The ones I particularly loved were simple photographs of friends and family having a nice time - although many people said they were worried afterwards that might make me feel bad. But I wanted signs that life was going on out there. I wanted trees, funny dogs, babies, flowers, the sea and I particularly yearned for people smiling. All the things that weren't really happening in my room at the time.
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So, don't be like Sarah - take your toothbrush and hairbrush as well as your charger. Breathe lots. Learn some songs. Listen to birds outside while you can as well as recordings. And don't judge yourself. We're all doing the best we can, and if you want to watch nearly all of Love is Blind, well, at least you know that you are not alone.
But mostly, of course, I really hope that none of this is needed for you. As everybody keeps saying, stay at home and wash your hands. And know how lucky we all are that we have such wonderful doctors, nurses, nursing staff and support staff in the NHS ready to help us if the worst happens. As well as our delivery drivers, our supermarket staff, our pharmacists, our police, our warehouse workers, and all the other really important people who are keeping us going right now.