Last night I slept from 9:45pm until 6am without getting up. Well, I did take a pain pill at 3am but that was for a headache and the pills were right next to my chair, so I didn't have to actually get up. Amazing how much more human I feel after a full night's sleep.
You don't realize how resentful you get of medical staff coming in all day and all night long. I know it's their job, and I really am grateful for getting excellent care. But between the nurses, the patient care techs, the residents, the doctors, the respiratory team, housekeeping and room service, someone was constantly coming into the room: checking vitals, turning on lights, making me get up to go to the bathroom, giving me a shot (in the stomach - OUCH!), emptying the trash, checking my oxygen level, listening to my heart, checking the blood flow with the Doppler, bringing me pills, taking my temperature, emptying drains, delivering (nasty) food, inspecting my incisions. There is NO privacy and no independence. And no resting!
It's nice to wear what I want, sleep when I want, get up without sounding an alarm, pee without announcing it and do all of that in the comfort of my own home.
I'll be honest - there is one thing I do miss about the hospital - the leg compression sleeves and machine they have you use after surgery to prevent blood clots. I did not have one minute of restless legs syndrome in the hospital - I LOVE those things! Last night I had to break out my meds and take a (very short) walk because my legs were getting jumpy. They let us take everything else home with us, why couldn't we just throw that machine in, too?
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