Things to pack/take for hospital stays

I get asked a lot by new cancer families what they should pack/take to hospital for admissions so am sharing this suggested list. Some I've added to the bottom specifically for stem cell/bone marrow transplant (especially if you have to move far away from home for it and can drive there).

We had 3 bags that we always had at the ready:

1. Hospital Daypack - A backpack ready to grab at the door in case of emergency where we had to go to the hospital right away and for use during hospital outpatient visits. Our visits were often full day affairs and emergency visits often ended up meaning being admitted, so we always needed to have these at the ready for the patient. In this bag at a minimum we had:

- Favourite stuffie

- Change of clothes (that could also be pajamas so usually pajamas or sweatpants, t-shirt, sticks and change of underwear)

- 1-3 days dose of current meds and a bottle of Children's Tylenol in his preferred flavour (we have one med obtained under compassionate grounds that the hospital couldn't get, so always had to have some in case, the rest can generally be obtained at hospital, but never underestimate a last minute need for Atavan for anxiety, Ondansatron for nausea or even Morphine for pain and how long it might take for them to get a doctor to give these orders in hospital while you wait to be admitted or are having outpatient procedures)

 - Blanket (we bought one that is fleece and folds into itself to make a pillow which is great to leave in the hospital daypack for unexpected Emergency Department visits, scans, clinic days, etc.)

- Toys and distractions (Fidget toys; dice and a hospital kidney dish to play games; deck of cards/uno game; new container of playdoh or putty; pop it game; mini Bop It; Lego Minifigure blind bags; Tablet or old phone with charger to watch videos on with hospital Wifi, download audible books on, earphones, etc.)

- Hand sanitizer, extra masks, sanitizing wipes, large ziploc bags for soiled clothes, etc.

- Tegaderm dressings/tape to reinforce around edges of central line dressing if it started to peel off, etc. and a pair of medical scissors (they'll give you a pair and tape at hospital if you ask)

- Emla patches to numb injection site (or port if you have one) - easier for day trips than the cream

- Mio Water Flavouring (to put in the contrast that they have to drink for PET Scans - usually at the children's hospital for CTs they have various flavours, but at the adult hospital for PET Scans they only ever has pomegranate and it once made Ollie throw up. Ollie always preferred Strawberry Watermelon or Orange so we learned to take our own.)

- Refillable water bottle

- A few snacks and treats (granola bars, container of Shreddies or Cheerios, lollipops or ring pops as rewards or to help the meds go down, etc.) for child and parent as the ways are often long and not an Emergency Departments have vending machines or allow food to be ordered from food services while you wait for hours.

- Small incentive prize for doing hard things like being brave for pokes and scans (Ollie always wanted Beyblades, but pick your child's fave small toy)

- Vaseline (good for dry lips, sore bums, etc. but always use a clean medical glove so as not to contaminate. Hospital will generally give you an new travel size if needed.)

- Small hand sanitizer and extra medical masks (you'd be surprised at how often dispensers are empty at hospital)

- Blue throw up bags (ring on top to hold open like a bucket, but compact and disposable. We kept them handy in the cars, too)

- Extra PICC line cover (made of stretchy fabric or in a pinch cut the foot off a sock that the snug but not right on their arm over the central line)

[Photo description: Ollie sleeps in an exam room at the CHEO hospital under his folding fleece blanket while listening to his tablet and getting an infusion of IViG to boost his antibodies.]

2. Hospital Overnight Bag - for short stays of 1-4 days - always packed and preferably left in the trunk of the car, it generally included:

- Pajamas for the patient and caregiver

- Change of clothes for the patient and caregiver

- Slippers for patient and caregiver

- Toiletries for patient and caregiver for at least an overnight stay, but 2-3 days if you don't have a co-worker parent or co-caregiver who can bring up what you need if admitted for an infection for 3-4 days)

- A few snacks and bottles of water (late night emergency room visits = nothing open if your kid is starving)

- Note that I would usually either also have his daypack noted above with me or transfer the most important things from it (e.g. Stuffie, tablet, meds) into the overnight bag.

- Eye mask

[Photo description: Ollie sleeps in an Emergency Department exam room at the Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto. We haven't bought the folding blanket/pillow yet and there was no pillow in this room so we had to fold up my coat for his head! Our overnight bag is sitting in a nearby chair. We waited that night for 10 hours for a hospital bed to become advisable to be admitted and no food could be ordered there, and I could not leave him to get food. Thank goodness I brought drinks and snacks!]

3. Hospital Food and Supplies Bag - for our planned admissions for chemo and transplant - this one was a big canvas bag from Land's End (see photo below) and in it we would have:

- Cozy blankets for the patient and caregiver for sleeping (hospital supplies, but nothing like comfort from home)

- Magic Bag (put in freezer or microwave to help with pain or discomfort)

- Meds for patient and caregiver (note that often meds for kids are in tablet form and hard for them to swallow at first until they learn, so worth considering getting your own supply of kid friendly versions. For example, Ollie took Melatonin, but the hospital certain was a mint flavoured tablet that he hated so we bought and took Berry gummies instead. Also, they had liquid Tylenol, but usually only grape flavour and Ollie only ever liked strawberry-banana so we always had at least two on hand)

- Emla patches or cream our Maxilene cream to numb injection site (or port if you have one) and Saran Wrap to hold cream in place  - apply 30 minutes before poke

- Snacks and drinks for the patient and caregiver (Juice boxes, Campbell's Soup At Hand, Lipton Cup of Soup, Soda Crackers, Granola bars, chocolate, anything individually packaged that didn't need refrigeration, cereal, etc. The hospital generally has a parent kitchen on each ward with fridge, microwave, kettle and often a Keurig machine. Some hospitals have mini-fridges in the inpatient rooms as well.)

- Keurig Coffee Pods, sugar, coffee whitener, stir sticks and/or milk or cream. Also a travel mug or two or disposable coffee cups and lids (dollar store).

- Swiss army/pocket knife (so many times you need scissors, a nail file, a knife, a can opener, etc. and they're hard to find in hospital!)

- Salt and Pepper (they always forget the salt with the meal tray and cancer patients crave salty! We bought a set of salt and pepper at the dollar store and left in hospital bag)

- Foods to help get oral medicines down (chocolate pudding cups; squeezee applesauce packages or other fruit flavours; if we knew we were being admitted and had a fridge in the room or access to the family kitchen with a fridge, yoghurt tubes; Lollipops or ring pops to help with the yucky aftertaste of drinking contrast for scans, etc.)

- Flushable wipes (for the countless times the patient will have diarrhea and may even use a bed pan or commode. The hospital will give you dry wipes that you can wet, but not convenient and not very soft on skin that can feel burned after days of diarrhea)

- Baby wipes - for hands, quick cleanups, etc.

- Small supply of napkins, disposable plates, cuts, utensils, ketchup packets (most hospitals have these in the family kitchens, but sometimes you can't or don't want to leave the room to get one)

- Plastic hangers (2-4) - hospital rooms often have closet cupboards, but rarely hangers, little space for storage and if it is jacket weather you need to put them somewhere! We learned to take some with us and bring them home are each time.

- PICC line rubber/waterproof cover for bathing (can usually buy online or at hospital pharmacy) or Glad Press and Seal to keep vegan line dry while bathing.

- Hand cream - all that hand washing and sanitizing makes for dry and cracked skin which can then bring infection into the hospital.

[Photo description: An extra large canvas bag with "Ollie" embroidered on the side that held all of our hospital admission foods and supplies.]

In addition for longer admissions we also packed:

4. Planned Longer Admission Suitcase - same as #2 above with enough clothes for the entire planned stay or at least half and arrange for a spouse, parent, friend to deliver a second set half way through the stay and take the dirty ones to wash. 

5. For Stem Cell Transplant and/or moving far away to do it/living in hospital for long periods):

- Mattress topper/camping mat or sleeping bag for the sleeper chairs that are notoriously uncomfortable (absolutely the case at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto in the BMT unit) and something to wrap it up in during the day (I had a luggage strap and an extra large garbage bag and sick it behind the chair during the day)

- Clean or brand new indoor shoes or slippers for the room for the caregiver(s). Leave outside dirty ones in clean room or bagged up in the isolation room.

- A bunch of new/unopened fidget toys, activities, small Lego sets, books, mini Bop It, Bubble pop, travel games, etc. Must be something you can fully sanitize taking in or brand new (outside package wiped with Lysol wipes before you take them in) to avoid bacteria and germs.

- Things to decorate room - we took posters, pictures and cards from friends wishing Ollie well. An inspirational photo or poster also works. You're in that room 24/7 for weeks (maybe months) and want to be comforted/inspired to keep going.

- Box of kitchen garbage bags to double bag things you're bringing in from outside. Remove outside bag and discard before bringing into isolation room. Also good for hauling dirty clothes out for washing. 

- 2 or more identical stuffed animals (whatever is you child's fave) - trade out daily for a new clean one if possible to avoid bacteria. Also kids drop them in the floor and sometimes throw up on them.

- 4-6 Shoe box or slightly bigger size clear plastic containers (dollar store) labeled with your family name to store food items in kitchen cupboards, communal family kitchen fridge or in your room. 

- Small single use boxes of laundry detergent or laundry soap pods - sometimes you have to pop up to the Ronald McDonald House room to do a load of laundry and there isn't always staff to sell you soap! 

Generally we have over-planned, as we have learned how difficult it can be to source things while in hospital (especially during COVID when often visitors are not able to bring what you need). I also wrote an earlier blog post about things to buy for cancer patients that can give you ideas about what we needed.