The Hospital Gown
It doesn’t matter who you are, a hospital gown will make you look at least 20 years older than you really are.
I discovered this phenomenon myself this weekend.
I experienced some chest pain, dizziness, and nausea early Sunday morning. It didn’t last long but was still concerning. I checked with my doctor’s Advice Nurse, who referred me to the On Call Doctor, who directed me to go to the hospital Emergency Room. When I arrived, I was immediately whisked away and given an Electrocardiogram (EKG). It indicated that my heart was functioning properly but more testing was advised. I was admitted to the hospital and given a hospital gown to put on.
Over the next 36 hours, I wore that gown and came to believe that hospital gowns really need to be updated.
When I laid down on a table for a heart scan, the opening in the back of the gown let me feel exactly how cold that table was. When I was hooked up to a heart monitor, and had the unit placed in a pocket of the gown, the weight of the monitor pulled the gown down. I was constantly trying to keep the back of the gown closed while keeping the front of the gown pulled up. The gown was very lightweight, so while trying to keep the gown in a respectable position, I was also trying to maneuver a blanket to keep warm. And the gown was blue, which is definitely not my color. Nor are little flowered prints. It got all tangled up when I slept and wasn’t constructed from the super soft stretchy fabric from which my own pajamas are designed.
During my hospital stay, I spent a lot of time waiting for tests. A nurse had to be with me 100% of the time. I spent a lot of time talking to Bailey, an absolutely delightful person and a great nurse. We even talked about The Gowns.
I was exceedingly grateful that my doctor put me through every single test available, just to be sure-sure that I am healthy. But I can’t help but wonder, with the modernization of so many things today, why haven’t hospital gowns been updated?
When I was discharged from the hospital, I saw Bailey in the Nurse’s Station. I thanked her for her care and told her goodbye. She looked at me and said, “You look………. like you’re ready to go home.” Yes, I said.
I noticed the surprise on her face when she saw me and the pause in her statement as she fumbled for words. I’m pretty sure she was trying NOT to say, “You look so much better without that gown!”
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Well, Holy Cow! That’s not good! I bet it all leaves you a little leary. So glad you came out of it though. You know around here, Sun City retirement paradise, the usual answer for everything is…low sugar level and not drinking enough water! Hope all goes well from here on out…and you’re right about those gowns! LOL…Hugs…Clar…
HAHA Low sugar level might not be a problem for me…. I do love my cookies! Hugs!
Having worked as a nurse and having been a patient myself, I totally get how you feel about the gowns! They don’t do much to protect an individual’s modesty and it’s so cold in them! My daughter had surgery a couple of days ago and I was there with her. The gown she had to wear was a dark green with some tiny flowers on it. Prettier than most gowns but a gown just the same. Glad all is well with you!
Thanks, Joyce. I totally understand the need for a doctor or nurse to have easy access to do their jobs, but yeah… 🙂 I hope your daughter’s recovery is quick.
I am happy it all turned out well.
Thanks, Jacque. Me too. So glad they were so thorough.
I can totally relate, those darn things are humiliating! At some point you wonder “why bother at all?” Just give me a blanket lol. I am glad everything turned out ok!!
Exactly! LOL. They put it on you, then practically have to take it off to do all they want to do. Someone has to come up with a better gown. 🙂
You are so right, Karen! When I had an extreme (month long, yuk) hospitalization, one day I called my mom and told het to bring me my leopard print PJs and some earrings and a dress I wanted to go home in. My doc came in while i was in the PJs in bed doing yoga and said, I think you’re ready to go home! (hallelujah!)
LOL! I can imagine the look on your doctor’s face when he came into your room and saw you exercising. 😉
Karen:
I am glad he is out of the hospital and that everything has been left in a scare.
You are absolutely right, hospital gowns are fatal, I went through it when I had my son, 25 years ago, but “those gowns” are still the same (ugly and uncomfortable).
My son’s father was a doctor and when I mentioned the uncomfortable issue of the style of gowns, according to the response (as a doctor) they are like this so that medical personnel can handle a patient in emergencies.
In any case, for those of us who have been patient, they are too uncomfortable and in the slightest carelessness, we run the risk of being totally naked, just thinking about it horrifies me.
I wish at this moment you are very well, enjoy the weekend.
I take this opportunity to thank you for the freebies you share with us, they are all precious.
Greetings.
Mrs. Nina.
Mrs. Nina, thanks for your reply. Yes, the gowns haven’t changes in years! I totally understand the reasons, but just wish they were a little different. LOL. You’re welcome for the gifts!
Well Karen, I sure am glad it turned out to be “no biggy.” (I think I dated myself there!)
But I too am glad your doctor insisted on all the tests. Going home with a clean check list means a sigh of relief. Thank the Lord for your health – I know I do every morning!! And thank you for your sweet generosity to all of us!
Well, I guess I dated myself too, because I didn’t bat an eye when I read “no biggie” 🙂 Kaiser was amazing and wasn’t going to let me out of that hospital until they were absolutely convinced my heart was perfectly fine. So glad! It might have been a case of Acid Reflux. My first ever, if that’s what it was. So we’ll see how things go in the future. Thanks for your good wishes.
Thanks for sharing a story too many of us can relate to. I have my babies by C-Section and when I went into surgry 40 years ago to have my daughter, the nurse pulled my gown up to my waist to check on things and then the anesthesiologist pulled my gown down from the top to start hooking things up to me , I laid their with the gown basically only covering my rib cage, all I could think was “please just put me out, please just put me out”!
Oh, Marilyn, I can totally empathize. I’m sure it was traumatic if you still remember this 40 years later. But I’m sure the whole thing was worth it in the end. 🙂 Thanks for giving me a chuckle today.