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Amazon Kindle...

Posted , 9 users are following.

susie74530
susie74530

I do not have a tablet in any form, just three four laptops, three of which are in varying stages of decrepitude!

I think that my current laptop maybe to bulky to manage post op, and certainly in the ward.  I am wondering what other members have been taking into the hospital with them, and whether they are Amazon Kindle, but which model?  I need a reader and an email facility.  Any guidance would be much appreciated.

0 likes, 32 replies

32 Replies

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  • AnnieK
    AnnieK susie74530

    Posted

    I only took my iPhone, since I could keep it with me all the time, and not worry about breakage or theft of a bigger device. I wouldn't even have been able to reach/lift a computer from a bedside table to my bed - would have had to ask someone to do it for me. I have a couple of books on my iBooks and Kindle for iPhone app, but I didn't get to read after all. I felt so horrible in the hospital that it was all I could do to just make important phone calls/texts and a couple of facebook posts. Thinking I'd be able to spend time happily reading was a pipe dream in my case. Hope things will be better for you!
    • susie74530
      susie74530 AnnieK

      Posted

      I did go ahead and by a used Kindle, with several of the apps that I wanted.  I have just posted along the lines that you have addressed regarding the nuisance factor of a laptop.  My thinking was that it will come in very handy when I am at home, and facing the same problem of dealing with a heavy and bulky laptop, when I am already feeling weak and wobbly, in hospital.
    • susie74530
      susie74530

      Posted

      Thanks.  I did pick up a Kindle very reasonably on Ebay with the apps that I wanted.  Just as well to have it early so that I can get to grips with it, as I suspect it will be easier to handle both in hospital and at home, post op.
  • maggie93798
    maggie93798 susie74530

    Posted

    I took my kindle, just a reader, and my iPad with the kindle app loaded. So did not have to wait for recharging. Not all hospitals have internet for patients as yet. Best to check
    • susie74530
      susie74530 maggie93798

      Posted

      Thanks Maggie:  

      Really just need to be able to email my daughter, and have some apps that will keep me amused if I am up to it. 

      Hoping they wont keep me in too long, but as i am on my own, I am not sure what they will do.  I have a cat, and don't want her in a cattery as she is so sensitive.

       

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK susie74530

      Posted

      You never know ahead of time how long you will be in the hospital. Best to make sure that you have arrangements made for your cat in case you are in longer than you had hoped. Perhaps someone could go into your home and put out fresh water/food for her instead of boarding her.
    • susie74530
      susie74530 AnnieK

      Posted

      Thanks Annie:

      That's what I am working on re the cat.  I had to put her in a cattery for six weeks when I went to Paris, and I will never forget the look in her eyes as I left her.  Vowed, I will never do that again.

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK susie74530

      Posted

      I completely get it. Twice we left our dog with others, really good people, and it was not good for him either time. After that we took him with us, even on a backpacking trip in the mountains!
    • susie74530
      susie74530 AnnieK

      Posted

      My cat is a major worry.  She is a Maine Coon, but out of the usual character.  Very nervous, and she runs for the cat flap every time I have a visitor.  Very trusting of me and bonded.  We understand each other.  I shall have to put in some ground work to see if I can find someone I can trust sufficiently with my keys, so that they can come in and feed her for me.
    • AnnieK
      AnnieK susie74530

      Posted

      I wouldn't want my cat to be outside at all while I was gone, especially for days, like when you will be having surgery. Can a parent stay at your place while you are in the hospital? Then the parent could take care of the cat and visit you easily. You will need help at home after the surgery, too. I know that some people have managed alone at home afterwards, but I couldn't have done it at all. Wouldn't have been able to get my food out of the fridge even for at least a week. Was very shaky on my feet, even with a walker, and needed supervision whenever I was on my feet for awhile, too. Maybe you will be stronger, I hope so!
    • susie74530
      susie74530 AnnieK

      Posted

      My Mother died over 20 years agoa t the age of 98y years, born 1901, my father at age 58.  So no parents.  I am 74 and 75 in July.  

      I have no option but to manage at home alone.

      I am finding myself increasingly concerned.

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK susie74530

      Posted

      Susie, that does sound concerning. I almost 68 and I needed a lot of help. My sister was here during the day whenever I needed her (she lives nextdoor), and my husband was home at night. In the U.S., if you have no one to help you at home, you go to a rehab center or a nursing home until you can manage on your own.

      Before surgery, everyone (the surgeon's office, the hospital, pre-op class teacher) asks how you are going to manage at home. There is the occasional person who can do it alone, with lots of preparation, but you never know ahead of time if that will be you. I would check with your doctor and whoever else is in authority about what your options are. You won't be able to drive for a while, that's for sure, even to go get things you might need but hadn't planned for. No one can anticipate every need.

      Even people who have help at home can need outside support. A woman I know had her husband with her full-time and she needed to be in a rehab center for 3 weeks after her knee replacement.

    • susie74530
      susie74530 AnnieK

      Posted

      My GP is aware of my situation, and I will arrange an appointment with her to explore my options after I have seen the consultant.   I know there are outside agencies that can be paid to come in, so that may be another option.  I have always been very self reliant, but if I am not very mobile, that is where the additional help is needed.  They would need to be thoroughly trustworthy, though.

      I am taking it one step at a time, but also looking ahead to what I need to do to get things properly set up.  My daughter does not drive, and live a distance away, so very limited in what she is able to do.  Unfotunately, she has just lost her father as a result of an emergency hip operation that went bad because of already existing issues.  So, the timing could not be worse.

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK susie74530

      Posted

      So difficult, Susie. Glad your GP and consultant are, or will be, aware of your situation. Perhaps your daughter could come stay with you for awhile to help. Post-op from THR is crisis time. 
    • susie74530
      susie74530 AnnieK

      Posted

      Good Morning, Annie:

      That is just the point.  My daughter's situation is such that it is impossible for her stay with me for a few days.  She has far too many other demands/personal difficulties that have to take precedence, not to mention her difficulties in accessing me as she does not drive.

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