Bed Sitting

I was recently sitting in a hospital room with my third son, who was recovering from a pneumothorax, and got to thinking. It was so exhausting to be there--why is that? I had gotten a good night sleep. True, my son was in the hospital, but by the time I got there, the worst of it was over. He had a chest tube (the painful part) already. He was breathing comfortably. He's young, so recovery should be swift and complete. So not terribly stressful in the spectrum of hospital visitation. Yet I was so exhausted that I could hardly keep my eyes open.
The environment of the hospital is just bland. We are about to embark on a campaign to make my home hospital a more patient centered place. What would that entail? I think a large entertainment center would be useful--something to draw your attention and keep it. The patient is almost literally tied to the bed, so other methods of occupation are challenging. I was recently in a hotel that had internet TV--you could access your Netflix account to stream movies, read the newspaper on line, watch cable TV, listen to music, or pop a DVD in to watch. That might help pass the time and keep one alert. A room of one's own was very nice, but I needed more. Thankfully, I only had one day to contemplate this problem--lung improved and son was discharged, more aware of his mortality but largely recovered.