Recovery at home

After surgery, getting comfortable can mean supporting several sore areas at once. A U-shaped pillow can prop the back, hips, knees and legs without building a precarious nest of separate pillows, and the removable washable cover is useful during recovery.

Staying in nightwear around the clock blurs the days together. Something soft with a forgiving waistband counts as getting dressed, survives a walk to the day room, and doesn't press where a wound or a fresh scar is.

Holding a phone up while lying flat is tiring and drops it on your face eventually. A clamp arm makes films and video calls possible for someone who can't sit up.

Ultra-thin flat speakers mean patients can listen to podcasts, music and audiobooks comfortably while resting sideways against the pillow, without hard earbuds digging into the ear. It doubles as a light-blocking band for daytime rest.

Hospital sockets sit behind the bed, above head height, or on the far wall. A standard 1m cable means choosing between charging your phone and being able to reach it. Three metres reaches the bed every time.

Ward televisions are expensive and awful, and a phone screen gets tiring. A light tablet holds downloaded films, books and puzzles for the flat afternoons, and makes a video call feel like a proper visit rather than a shouted phone conversation.

Tired hands drop things, and a bare tablet slides off a bed table at the worst possible moment. A rugged case with a built-in stand means it survives the fall and props itself up on the tray table without anyone holding it.

Concentration after surgery or during treatment is genuinely poor. Listening works when reading doesn't, and it works in the dark without disturbing anyone else in the bay.

Ward wifi is patchy and rounds interrupt everything. Puzzles can be picked up and put down instantly, fill ten quiet minutes without much commitment, and work when concentrating on a full book feels impossible.

Colouring asks nothing of a foggy head and gives the hands something to do during a long afternoon. Tear-out pages mean a finished one can go up on the locker, which does more for a bed space than any card.

Visits get awkward when nobody knows what to say. A short game fills twenty minutes comfortably, and works on a bed table with limited space.

Most hospital hours are spent alone with a head that won't settle. Something to fiddle with or play single-handed fills the gap between obs without needing wifi, a partner or much concentration.

Plenty of medications, oxygen and long nil-by-mouth stretches leave a mouth uncomfortably dry, and there are hours when you cannot simply keep drinking. A gel or spray in the locker is something a person can reach for themselves at 3am.

Meals are served early, missed for scans, and occasionally impossible to face. Credit on a delivery app hands the choice back. Worth knowing first: orders generally have to be collected from the hospital entrance, so the person needs to be well enough to walk down — or a visitor or friend can meet the driver. Delivery to the bed space is never guaranteed.

Nil-by-mouth waits, dehydration and the bone-dry air on wards can leave lips cracked within a day. An unscented balm is easy to keep by the bed and use without adding another strong smell when you already feel queasy.

Jug water goes warm in an hour and needs both hands and a sitting position. A straw lid makes drinking possible with one arm cannulated and the bed barely tilted, which is the difference between sipping all afternoon and giving up.

When taste changes, water can taste metallic or simply unbearable. A splash of cordial is the cheapest way to make a jug of ward water appealing again, and staff are usually glad of it.

Bed baths depend on staff time. Large fragrance-free wipes let someone freshen up on their own schedule, which for a lot of patients matters more than any bunch of flowers.

Washing hair is often impossible for weeks — lines, dressings, or simply not being able to stand. Dry shampoo plus a long-handled brush restores a bit of normality without help from staff.

Air conditioning, repeated hand washing and many drugs leave skin cracked. Scented lotions can trigger nausea during treatment and irritate skin around dressings, so fragrance-free is usually the best bet.

Ward floors are cold, hard and busier than you expect. Slippers with a proper sole and a back stay put when you shuffle to the loo at 3am, and may save you from being issued the dreaded hospital grip socks because you have nothing safer to wear.

Ward floors are hard and cold, and feet get colder as circulation drops. Grip socks let someone stand for obs and toilet trips without hunting for slippers under the bed.

Meals arrive early and get missed for scans, and there are days when a hot drink is about all anyone fancies. A sachet of soup in the locker needs only the water from the drinks round, and is a comfort at the point when the ward has gone quiet.

Antibiotics, treatments and hospital food can all upset your stomach, and repeated diarrhoea can leave the skin around your bottom painfully sore very quickly. A simple barrier cream protects the area and makes washing less uncomfortable. Tell the nursing team if the skin is broken, bleeding or becoming more painful.

Pull-over tops are impossible with a drip line, a shoulder injury or an abdominal wound. Buttons let a patient dress themselves, which is often the first bit of independence they get back.

Chemo chairs and day units run cold, and drips make you colder still. A zip or button front can be draped over a cannulated arm rather than threaded onto it — a pullover simply can't be worn.