I've had three surgeries, all in NYC which is a couple hundred miles from home. It means choosing what to pack carefully, especially because I know that after surgery, I will be restricted from lifting more than 10 lbs and will somehow have to haul it all home. But there are some things that I have found helpful in the hospital...my cell phone, my PDA, the chargers for them, a small extension cord in case the outlets in the room aren't close enough to the bed, etc.
I've also found a couple other things that really helped out:
-- a packable waterproof windbreaker with a hood, the kind that folds up into its own pocket. These things weigh next to nothing, are pretty warm when layered over a sweater, and more than enough weather protection even if its not cold. Even on hot summer days, it rains...and rainwear with a hood is a lot more multipurpose than an umbrella
-- an ipod or small MP3 player, rechargeable or with batteries, and a good set of headphon or earbuds. Daytime TV in the hospital is okay, sometimes, but sometimes it is nice to have your own music and a way to tune out the hospital noise.
-- a packable, very lightweight backpack. Mine, like the windbreaker, folds up into its front pocket so it takes up no space in my luggage, and it's from Eastern Mountain Sports. It's called the 'Tortoise,' and there's a small duffle version, too. You can find it at http://www.ems.com and I've seen other versions of this kind of pack/luggage at places like Walmart, sporting goods stores, etc. It was a great 'hospital' bag while I left my main small wheeled tote at my brother's house.
I didn't really bring books to read, because I had audio books on the ipod along with music and I knew I could have my brother pick up magazines in the hospital. And I didn't waste packing space on personal clothes to wear in the hospital because I knew I'd have a lot of staples and stiches and a catheter or two to deal with--so I brought 2 sets of scrubs from work, in which I went home, and I mainly wore hospital gowns with my own light robe in the hospital.
One thing I brought, which I will no longer carry with me, is my laptop. I knew the hospital was wireless, and would have loved to be able to connect, but the connection was fruity in my room so the laptop was 4 lbs. of extra weight. What I will bring on any future trips, including hospital stays, is my new laptop (the old one had a power supply seizure about a month after I got home.) My new laptop weighs all of TWO POUNDS, including the power adapter. It's an Asus eeePC 900, and while I have a larger, heavier laptop for home use, this is the one that will come on the road with me. It has no internal CD/DVD, although you can hook in a USB drive if you want, and a small amount (20 GB) of internal storage. What it does have is built in wireless which is pretty sensitive, a built in webcam and speaker, fast boot up, and preinstalled web access (Firefox), email access, office productivity software installed (openOffice 2.0), some native games, and the ability to play music and movies that you can either download, stream or bring with you on USB pen drives or SD memory cards, all equally small. You can see one at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC or at the ASUS website. No, I don't work for them...but I do love this thing. It fits in my purse, and it does everything I normally need to do when on the road (or in the hospital)--email, web cruising, entertainment, and work/office software in case I should feel like being productive. I'll never carry more than two pounds on the road again.
What did you find helpful when you had to be in the hospital or treatment center, whether for a day or an extended period?