Experience in hospital

Hai!
Here's a fish. Take it.

I'm currently staying in hospital. Nope, don't worry,I'm totally okay. I was feeling sick about 2-4 weeks ago on and off and then my toe started to hurt, preventing me from walking. After days off school, I finally got to see a doctor and had a blood test. Nope, no magical numbing cream or anaesthesia. I was positively FRIGHTENED. I managed to survive, and the results arrived the next day. It turned out my liver was just trolling and decided to not function correctly. So, as a result, I stayed in hospital for about 7 hours before being transferred to a ward. I had a cannula inserted, this time with numbing cream, but I didn't know how they worked at the time. If you don't know, a cannula is a bit of plastic inserted into a vein with a needle and attached to some tubes and a valve thing so you can get given medication directly into your vein. I was scared, but after it was over I was much happier. I was transferred to my ward after LOTS of waiting and had to wait to get my things brought from home. So, I stayed overnight. I stayed from Friday and if everything goes well, I may be discharged today.
Here's a list of the highlights!

FOOD! The food is actually quite nice, though not quite the same compared to my mum's homemade meals (I want pancakes!). I didn't have anything to eat for AGES so the first thing I ate was a cheese sandwich and some chocolate mousse. As an avid cereal fan, I ate regular cornflakes every day for breakfast. The drinks really varied, but I mainly had orange juice and milk. Breakfast normally came at around 8am, give or take some time. Lunch came around noon, and hot food was available but I preferred sandwiches (I had a preference for ham or cheese) for lunch. There were also small desserts like fruit bags and yogurt, and sometimes cake. Sometimes, there are other things too. (Like giant cookies) Dinner is around 5-6, and although you can pick sandwiches or hot food, I usually choose hot food at this point. There's also usually small dessert, like cake.

CANNULA I honestly dreaded my medication, one is every 8 hours and another is once a day. I found a pattern lately of the 8 hour medication- 2am,10am,6pm. I hated how the first flush stings- possibly because of the salt in it (but I still sprinkled salt over my dinner because I'm awesome that way) but the stinging got more bearable. It may have hurt because a nurse flushed it- the rest was up to the machine. I was given antibiotics and vitamin K as far as I'm concerned, and it wasn't so bad. Here are techniques I used that work well for calming;

• Know when the next medicine is coming so you can be prepared.
• Find something interesting to read or watch on your phone,tablet,book or laptop to take your mind off things. I found it works better for me when the machine is doing it, not so much on the flush.
• This works for me during the flush- talk to the nurse or look out of the window. Find something to talk about, even sometimes  I just simply say that it stings and it helps.
• Crucial- DON'T THINK ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING. IF YOU THINK IT'S GONNA HURT, WELL, I GOT NEWS FOR YA, IT'S GONNA HURT.Don't think about veins,blood or stinging. Try not to look, either. When I saw my cannula inside my vein... well, I was positively frightened. DON'T.THINK.ABOUT.IT

BED  Most of my day was in bed, and it came with a little control that allowed me to change it a little. For the day, I put the back up so it was a little like a sofa, and the beds are actually quite comfortable.Well, they have to be, if I'm going to stay in them all day.

BLOOD TESTS I totally dreaded those little devils. I had at least 5-10 of them, but even though I am one of the biggest hemophobic people out there, even I have generated tips. The value of experience!
Here you are ^-^

• Drink water. It helps get your *shudder* blood flowing and opens up your *gulp* veins a little, stay hydrated! Apparently it's good to minimise stress,too.
• Ask for anaesthesia. Numbing cream stays on for about 30 minutes-1.5 hours, and can actually ELIMINATE the pain! Trust me, it worked. There is also a spray that temporarily freezes the skin. From my experience, it's not as effective as numbing cream and not as effective on its own, but it's instant. It works well in conjunction with the numbing cream and I always have them together as a reinforcing measure.
• Play a game or read beforehand to calm your mind.Do some Sudoku puzzles, read a good book, play flappy bird or try a puzzle... just stay occupied!
• Do not look at any of the equipment. See if there is anything in the room to distract you just in case; such as a window, poem or even a spot on the wall.
• Breathe deeply and count. For example, in for 4,hold for 2, out for 4... it distracts you well!
• Count! I am often quite worried and tend to count quickly, but as long as you're counting it's okay.
• Talk to whoever is doing it, I find that an excellent distraction. If you don't want to hear what's going on, SAY SO! I only like to know when it's actually in and when it's out.
• Relax as much as possible so the blood actually flows. Being tense makes it even worse!

LIFE Well, mainly in bed, really.There's a curtain I usually keep open during the day, and the view is beautiful. I have a bedside table that is normally in front of my bed,and a sofa for visitors which I sometimes use. There is also a TV/Phone thing, then again, only sometimes used.
That's all I can think of for now, what do you think? Have YOU ever stayed in hospital?