Hi Erika. I've been in and out of the hospital as of late, so here are a list of items I usually bring with me.
- Jacket/warm undergarment (preferably something that doesn't interfere with the IV)
- Water bottle
- Large and face towels
- Underwear for when after the tube gets pulled
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, other misc. toiletries
- Book
- Phone charger
- Current medications
- Socks
- Sandals/slippers for walking around the hospital
- Hair ties if you have long hair
I live alone, so I end up traveling very light and fit everything into a small roller suitcase. Winterberry has a lot of good advice. The only advice I can give is that if you have long hair (even for semi-short hair as well), I recommend braiding your hair before going into surgery so it doesn't go everywhere when you wake up. Also, the days after the surgery, it's difficult deal with the hair with the IV in the arm depending where it is place, so it may be difficult to put it up after the surgery. Even for smaller procedures like the pouchoscopy, I ended up french braiding my hair because your hair will yank and tug when they ask you to move around from bed.
I wish you the best of luck. Trust your surgeon and his team. I second Winterberry on asking about pain management as well because I ended up not being on any pain medication when I awoke from my first surgery (and the anesthesiologist had gone home too!). You will feel better than you ever have.
-Rina