The dayroom is where you can come for a bit of time out. On a teenage cancer unit, it is likely to have a TV, radio, video games, books and other stuff to keep you entertained. This is a room that everyone can use because life on the ward can get very boring. Almost everything in the dayroom was donated by other patients or people who want to make your life on the ward a little bit better. It’s helpful if everyone does their part to keep the room clean and tidy and make sure that the equipment doesn’t get broken. If you’re not on a teenage unit then
- find out if there are things like TVs, DVD players etc
- arrange to bring in a CD walkman, iPod or MP3 player
- ask if you can bring in a laptop. There’s a charity called MATTDOTCOM which lends laptops to young people in hospital to help them to carry on with their education.
The dayroom is also where you can take your visitors for a bit of privacy and a place that you can escape to when other people want to sleep on the ward without being disturbed.
