Packing a bag for hospital - surgery required

[WorriedDaughter1]

My mother will be going in for thyroid surgery and I was wondering what she needs to take in her hospital bag. Suggestions for anything that would make her hospital stay more comfortable would be appreciated!

Anyone? Please?

Her own pillow.
Slipper socks.
Eat plugs and may be an eye mask.
Toiletries and wash stuff in a bag for life so easy to carry, hang up and keep dry if she's in long enough to need to shower.
Baby wipes if a proper wash is too difficult.
Headphones and music or audio book or downloaded films.
A little bag to clip to her bed with essentials in.

Ear plugs!

And a charger with a long cable if the nearest plug is awkwardly positioned in relation to her bed.

My dad had surgery on his neck/throat rather than specifically his thyroid and so he was bed bound and the start and didn’t need much, but after he could move around it was the standard stuff that helped like a dressing gown comfy slippers and a lot of zip up loose cotton tracksuit tops as with the drains and nature of the wound he couldn’t manage anything that went over his head, perhaps your mother might be in a similar position? A pillow from home helped a lot too and many others have said this! Sorry I can’t be more help but really anything that will make life easier for her, a power pack for charging her phone might be good because again with the nature of the surgery it can be tricky plugging a phone in and out of the wall of the sockets are above and behind as is often the case! Hope that’s some help!

How long is she going in for? Some ideas:

• Refillable water bottle (ideally one that keeps drinks cool)
• Noise cancelling headphones or earplugs
• Own pillow
• Comfortable day clothes, as it can help with the recovery to get dressed rather than staying in pyjamas all day, but she might not feel like wearing her normal clothes
• Chewing gum/mints/ginger can help with post-surgery nausea, but I'm not sure if that would be appropriate after thyroid surgery, so best to check with staff for that one

I would avoid taking anything valuable though, as unfortunately stuff can go missing on a busy ward, and depending on the set-up she might not have access to a locker for while she is actually in surgery.

Thank you so much for the good ideas! I'll start putting everything together

Mobile phone and charger, small amount of money to purchase papers, mags, sweets, crisps, soft drinks sold by the mobile trolley, tweezers nail scissors and file.

Personally as a nurse I wouldnt bother with the pillow, all depends how much it would affect her sleep. We change the beds every morning and obviously change the pillow cases. That doesnt happen with brought in pillows and people are a lot sweatier in hospital (pain/infection/ridiculous heating systems) and they can get pretty gross, people never bring in spare pillowcases. If she needs more just ask, we always have loads.

Same for the water bottles. Depends if we are monitoring fluid intake or not (though most wards I've been on tend to, but that's a debate for another day). She should have a fresh jug of water replaced every few hours which let's us see how much she takes in, alternatively some people drink juice/bottled water. Just makes it a little easier for us to calculated an accurate volume and make sure shes not becoming dehydrated.

Plenty pjs/loungewear. Maybe about 3 sets, and take home when needed. She may prefer pjs even if she wears nighties at home for a bit more coverage.

Phone charger- pop a label on it with her full name.

Soap bag- body wash, deodorant (roll on better as spray can set off fire alarms), toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo. Hospital can provide hot wipes if required but really better to have a proper wash. Flannels are great but no place to dry so would pack a few and just take home each day.

Plenty pants. Most patients dont seem to bother with Bras but I would definitely need a soft one.

Number 1 most important is any medication that she normally takes. It can take us a day or so to source rarer meds so please please please take them in with you.

Beseen, wish I’d talked to you before I went in 😆

Nice to haves for me- good moisturiser, Sudoku book & Crossword puzzles, and a wrap (clothing not food!) to keep me covered and warm when sitting in bed - I had a drip so sleeves were no good, but the wrap is put to good use even now

Thank you all again! This is all really helpful!

Large Tupperware tub to house all this stuff so the staff can actually have space to put her dinner on the table.