It was just a year ago that I had my cycstectomy at USC/Norris. My hospital stay was ten days, and one thing really stands out in my memory.
No, not the pain. Not the surgery. Not the 18 flavors of Jello.
It was the boredom I remember. I dozed off a lot during the day, but at night I was awake, and tried to watch television to fall asleep. I don't have to tell you how awful after-midnight television is--infomercials, stupid syndicated comedies, lots of long commercials... there is nothing restful about it. You simply can't bore yourself to sleep.
If I was going into the hospital again, the first thing I would do is to get an mp3 player and download some old radio shows from a site like
Radio Lovers
.
The downloads are free and are entertaining as hell. And if you close your eyes while you listen to them, I guarantee you'll fall asleep faster than if you'd watched television.
I'll get you started--you can listen to these now, or download them to your computer by right-clicking on them.
Here is
War of the Worlds
, a timeless piece of radio by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre group. The best Science Fiction story ever.
If you need a laugh, here's
Jack Benny buying a new car
.
How about
The Whistler
.
Or more classic
Orson Welles
.
Or
The Shadow
.
Or one of my favorites,
Mars is Heaven
.
Or an episode of the great series,
Escape
.
You get the idea. Hospital nights aren't always pleasant, but they don't have to be boring.
Best wishes,
Zach