There is nothing quite like sitting by a window, watching full flakes of snow coat the landscape beyond the panes of glass. All while sipping hot coffee in a big cozy chair. From the warmth of my room, it is comforting to view movies, or scan Facebook and Instagram for the multitude of “It’s snowing in Arizona” photos, as the minutes, no hours lazily pass by. I glance out the window again to gaze at the soft, frozen beauty drifting downward. A knock is heard, and a person in a sky blue gown, grey gloves, and a white hospital mask opens and steps through the door. The vision brings me home to the hospital.
At the Hospital
Various bells and whistles alert medical professionals of my child’s condition and sweep away any appearance of tranquility. While the rustling of the thin, plastic garment provides background instrumentals to a chorus of vitals and diagnoses. In as much as the nursing staff takes care of my child, they tend to me as well. They provide the much needed reassurance, that is just out of reach of me attaining it on my own. Visits to the hospital are rarely fun and almost never relaxing even though the professionals try to ease my trepidation. The anxieties, and uncertainties lingering in my thoughts can be overwhelming, so anything I can do to promote peace of mind is magnified at times like these.
Bring Home to the Hospital
Comforts from home make my stay more bearable. For me, that luxury is my mug full of caffeinated warmth with a touch of sweet cream to ward off the temptations of the brownie or lemon bar on the cafeteria menu. For some reason, our local hospital lives in the dark ages or at least the 1970’s when it comes to my favorite brewed beverage. That being said, the in-house Starbucks is massively out of my daily budget. So before leaving the house or shortly after we know our ER visit has turned into an overnight stay, I or my husband pack up my french press and favorite mug to assure a quality cup of Joe throughout my stay.
Peace Be With Us
The nurses have no problem providing the hot water that is needed for my java jolt. They often compliment me on my ingenuity. I, myself try to make the challenges in life a bit easier to swallow, sometimes quite literally. Bringing a little something to make my days of observations and diagnoses less stressful is of utmost importance. If I am at peace then my child can be also
