if you have a window binoculars are good, if only because others will come into your room to see what you are looking at! I also found really short books great because you did not have time to lose the thread. If you are on steroids contemplating the next meal or biscuit run is always good. Go for a short walk if possible and find the hospital hot chocolate machine. Spook the nurses by sleeping or napping in the day and being awake all night. Night staff seem somehow more hip and able to tolerate small rebellions. One thing I would say, don't concentrate on being ill. For a while I monitored when I was given drugs and what they were, it sent me round the bend so I stopped it. Remember the medics are your very best friends, they are the guys who will fight this battle when you are too bl***y weak.