How to amuse yourself as a recovering patient

How I became a recovering patient started with an unfortunate mishap at midnight. A lot of factors contributed to my fall: I just woke up, I made the terrible decision not to wear my glasses, and I was experiencing period cramps. All of these details led my mother and me to a waiting room in the nearby hospital at 3 AM. I got out of the hospital with four stitches on my head, three concerned siblings, two prescribed drugs I needed to take for a week, and one very tired mother.

Here are some ways I passed the time while recovering.

Recall what happened

My injury was unique because I still don’t know what exactly happened. I remember the difficulty of explaining what happened to multiple nurses, doctors, and family members. When I try to describe the event, all I can tell you confidently is that it was dark. So I spent a lot of time piecing together what happened. I felt like Agatha Christie writing a sequel, except she doesn’t know who the murderer is either.

Writing also helped me cope with what happened. To begin with, it was a moderately scary and very stressful event. It is something I don’t want to experience again. However, I can’t live my life being terrified of stairs. So I needed an avenue to deal with what happened so I can move past it. I had plenty of time as a recovering patient to write down my feelings and cope with what happened.

Try watching or reading

Rest is important in recovery. However, there will be times you will need to wake up, either for taking medication or cleaning the wound. Afterward, you find yourself completely awake and need to pass the time to get sleepy again. This is the perfect moment to read the book you have been putting off reading or watching your favorite comfort series.

I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and watched The Sandman on Netflix, which are both wonderful because I fell right back asleep after. Make sure not to fall into the scrolling trap of social media because that will certainly keep you awake for hours. This activity’s aim is to induce sleep as well as momentary entertainment.

Sudoku to the rescue

This one is new, even to me. I liked playing Sudoku while I was a recovering patient because it made me feel smart without trying. It also reassured me that my brain is still in tip-top shape. I preferred to do the New York Times easy version. The fastest one I got done was eight minutes and the longest one was around two hours because I forgot I was playing. But, if numbers aren’t your game, maybe words are. Doing a word puzzle like Wordle or Arkadium’s 2-minute mini crossword could be a better fit for you.

Hibernate the week away

Stock up on both nutritious and regular snacks. During my week of convalescence, I had an assortment of fruits to snack on every meal. Eating and taking medication on time is necessary to recuperate well. I was also successful in convincing others to buy me comfort snacks like ice cream and cake. Moderation is key in snacks.

After eating well, I slept well. My sleep schedule as an overworked college student was in the toilet way before I got injured. Somehow, my injury led me to develop good sleeping habits because I got to experience how nice it felt to wake up with an excellent night’s sleep.

Though traumatic, my injury helped me realize how important it is to prioritize one’s health. I’ve been told countless times that this is an avoidable accident. If I could turn back the clock and cross out one of the minute details that led me to my accident, I would.

Still, after a week of going through a rollercoaster of emotions, I’ve decided to focus on what I can do now. For example, I’ve adjusted my sleep schedule so that I can do most of my tasks in the morning instead of the night so that I can sleep better. I’m also trying my best to be more careful of where I’m going. And if you’re wearing glasses like me, please be careful in the dark.