Hospitals are places everyone wants to avoid. Hospitals are for the sick and where many go right before they die. They are difficult for the patients and for the friends and loved ones who visit the patients.

Any visitor to the hospital will inform you that this dread is not reserved for the patients alone. Friends, family clergy and anyone else are uncomfortable in hospital surroundings as well. Hospitals are where sick people go and the hustle and bustle of the hospital staff while treating and transporting the sick and injured speedily down the halls in noisy gurneys does not have the happy ambience of a theme park. But, you know you must visit your sick friend who would gladly trade his hospital room for a jail cell if he could. You need to bring the poor soul some cheer, but how?

1) Visit. Often. The worst thing about being in the hospital is the horrible isolation that goes along with it. When my oldest son was about two he spent a week in pediatrics being treated for a respiratory infection. I stayed at the hospital with him, and during that week the only people I saw were his nurses, his doctors and volunteer that brought the therapy dogs through. Since he was too sick to go down to the playroom, the loneliness drove us both a little nuts. Company was very, very welcome.

2) Bring the patient something to do. Right up there with loneliness is boredom. Lonely, bored people need something to do to cheer them up no matter how sick they are. Bring in puzzles, books, art projects, craft projects, movies (if there is a DVD player available) or hand held game consoles. A patient needs something to relieve his boring existence all alone staring at green hospital walls day and night.

3) Bring snacks and real food. If you\’ve ever spent more than five minutes in a hospital, you\’ve probably been there for meal time. Which means you know that a) Many hospitals use the word “food” very, very loosely when describing what they\’re serving their patients, and b) Snacks aren\’t freely available between those meals because nurses and physicians want to carefully monitor their patients\’ food intake. Those who show up bearing food are to be welcomed with open arms.

4) Listen. No, nobody wants to hear about how dehumanizing treatment in the hospital can be. You feel like a pincushion by the time you\’re done. You really want to go home. It starts feeling like a mantra after a while. But let them talk. They need to, and it\’ll help you both feel better by the time they\’re done.

5) Talk. The patient is basically in solitary confinement. Tune them on to current events both in your own locale and around the world. Reassure them that there really is life outside the dreary walls of the hospital.

When you get right down to it, the best thing you can do for a friend and their family while they\’re in the hospital is keep everything as normal as possible. That way they feel like they still have some semblance of a life, and they have a fighting chance of getting out of that hospital with their sanity still intact.♠

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Author Bio: In the event that you found interest in the above piece, it is possible to go and take a look at additional related content at Henri Degre or this Henri Degre Web Site.

Category: Relationships
Keywords: henri degre,health,hospitilization,helping a friend