Tuesday, 23 July 2024

If you don't laugh, you'll cry!

There's a saying "If you don't laugh you'll cry and that was so true when we had that bit of drama and a stay for Ellie in hospital. We had to find the smallest things to keep our spirits up and we found plenty of things to chuckle about.

Hospital drip

Mc'Doctors!
If you have seen Grey's Anatomy you know Derek Shepherd is called McDreamy and Mark Sloan is called McSteamy. Well we met a few doctors and nurses that we named. McOlivia who reminded us of our friends daughter who works in a hospital, she looked like her and was so kind like her. There was McStabby who got a bit enthusiastic when he was trying to take blood from Ellie and McFunny who was a nurse who kept us laughing throughout the night.

Football on the TV.
When we were sat in A&E at about half past seven you could see all the men getting antsy, they were wanting to watch the England match. One man took charge and started trying to switch on the TV that was on the wall. One of the reception staff came out with a remote and there was a cheer when they got the football on just as the teams were singing their national anthems. All the men were crowded around the TV including my dad.

Old People!
Old people are hilarious. They have no time for faffing around and they definitely know what they want. A woman in the bed opposite Ellie was given her lunch and said I am not eating this crap, she demanded beans on toast and got it! Another woman wanted water which was colder and said in fact just get me some ice cubes. A woman was telling us about the blood she was getting delivered from Barnsley, she had a rare blood type and thought it was so funny they had none in this hospital. 

Not what she ordered!
On the first morning Ellie was in hospital she panicked when the nurse came around with the menu for lunch and just asked for a ham sandwich. By lunchtime Ellie had moved rooms and it turns out she got what the previous person had ordered. Orange Juice, some sort of green soup which she loved, Lasagne, mashed potato, chocolate sponge cake and custard. It was such a nice surprise. After lunch she ordered her tea and then ended up changing rooms so got another surprise meal. This time it was not to her liking so she ended up with tomato soup, a ham sandwich and chocolate and vanilla mousse. It turns out hospital food is not as bad as she thought.

Getting lost!
When Ellie was having lunch Stu and I decided to go for something to eat. The canteen is at the other side of the hospital and it turns out most of the staff at one side do not know where it is as it's so far! We got lost several times and it was a good 15 minute walk. I said if I had been by myself I would have just sat down and cried, Stu was with me so we found it funny and Ellie found it hilarious that we had taken so long.

Snoring!
The night I stayed with Ellie I didn't get much sleep, partly because she was vomiting and partly because I had a normal chair. When Stu stayed with her he got a reclining armchair and had a good sleep, so much so that Ellie threw a cup at his head (it was just a paper one) to wake him up as he was snoring so much.

The Vampire!
On the ward where Ellie was if the struggle to get blood out of someone to test they call for the sweetest and most gentle nurse who never fails to get blood. Ellie's veins were not good, small they told us and it was a struggle but the vampire nurse did an amazing job and got enough blood. When the nurses had gone off to back where they came from all the woman on the ward were saying when you see that nurse coming you know she's coming for blood. Eek!

Good toast!
On the morning after Ellie had been vomiting the nurses asked her if she wanted some toast and she said yes, not expecting anything amazing but the toast she had was the best toast ever!! I told her how when I had her and her sister that first slice of toast after my c-section's was amazing too!! She said there must be something special in it. 

Have you ever found things to laugh about while staying in hospital?

5 comments :

  1. I try to find humor in bad situations like hospitals. It beats crying or swearing.

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  2. I can sort of laugh about my stay now. The nurse made me use a bed pan and then she stood there waiting for me to finish. I told her to leave - we had a language barrier - and she finally understood I needed privacy!

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  3. Haha! Great post, and it made me LOL so many times. I love hospital food but not hospitals! When I had my thyroid out last year, I ordered everything on the menu, and when my husband had his knee replacement, I wanted to eat his food so badly!

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  4. Oh I need that vampire nurse! They have the hardest time getting blood (or even setting IV's) in my veins as they are small and often collapse. I was surprised at how good the hospital food was when I had my latest surgery; I don't remember the food at our local hospital being anything great at all when my boys were born. I used to have my husband pick up food and bring it to me for dinner instead.

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