Probably the only thing that every patient in hospital shares is a wish they weren’t there, but it’s not easy to know how best to cheer the bedridden up. Flowers, for example – surely good? Maybe, but there might be no way a large bunch could be slotted into such space that is available, and anyway flowers are now banned from wards. Something to read? It may seem that you’ve got all the time in the world to read “serious” stuff in hospital, but I have it on the word of top nurse Christine Hancock that in hospital you have the concentration of an ant, and tiny bite-sized offerings are better. Booze? The patient may indeed yearn for it – but half the time it’s prohibited by doctors.
There is probably no gift that’s perfect for everyone, but I know what I treasured most a few weeks ago when I was hospitalised. However skilled the people caring, a patient can feel puzzled; and a visitor can sometimes ask a question the patient would hesitate to ask. I knew I was in the hospital because I felt so awful, but no one had explained what I’d got until my shrewd and tactful son asked the right questions.
What it all comes down to is that there is nothing that replaces simply going along to visit someone – and this is my way of thanking the extremely handsome people who came to cheer me up.
What do you think? Have your say below
