AITA for not being a Chatty Cathy with my hospital roommate?

A Redditor recovering from surgery found themselves in an awkward situation with a hospital roommate. After politely cutting short a 30-minute conversation to take a much-needed nap, the roommate became upset, requested to be moved, and claimed the Redditor was unkind. Now, the Redditor wonders if they were wrong for prioritizing rest. Read the full story below.

‘ AITA for not being a Chatty Cathy with my hospital roommate?’

I (30F) had surgery earlier today. I gave birth to a baby six months ago. There was a complications which could not have been able to be operated on at the time. So I was the first surgery for the day (the nurses kept mentioning it), after recovering I was brought to my observation ward.

About an hour or so later I had a roommate (40ish F) joined. I had been watching tv shows on my iPad with the volume on loud. As soon as she arrived, I put my airpods in as a curtesy to her.

Later in the afternoon my husband brought our baby to come and see me. As soon as they left, roommate started up a conversation. I was polite and entertained the conversation for about 30 mins. I apologised to cut the conversation short but I was going to have a nap, well she got all huffy and rude staying I was selfish.

When I woke up from the nap, roommate was no longer there. I called for pain meds and the nurse said I must have really said something to her, as while I was asleep, she demanded to be moved to a different room, and that I should be kinder with my words. I feel that I’m not the a**hole for wanting to sleep to recover, it could be the meds I’m on but i feel horrible.

Let’s dive into the reactions from Reddit:

MurnSwag2 −  NTA – Why are you even entertaining a thought about how some busybody you’ll never meet again feels about you? You’re not in a hospital to make friends, but to get well. Ignore the nurse as well. She had one side of the story from the ‘victim’ who probably painted you as the AH.

Tricky_Direction_897 −  NTA. At all. I’d probably speak to the supervisor about the nurse’s comments. While I’m sure they were well-intended, they were completely inappropriate. Hope you’re feeling better.

kimba-the-tabby-lion −  NTA. Sorry if I misunderstood, but are you saying the nurse (who did not witness your interactions) said you should have been kinder? If so, I agree with the others, complain! How dare she police your behaviour, when your only job was to heal?

MadderHatter32 −  NTA. You’re in recovery from surgery not at a bar lol Your roommate sounds like my mom. I’m sorry. Get some rest and here’s to a full and speedy recovery.

knight_shade_realms −  NTA it’s a hospital stay, not a social call. She may have been feeling lonely, especially since you had visitors, but that doesn’t mean you are her built in company. I would address it with the nurses or someone else of that nature. It’s not fair that the onus was on you because she got her feelings hurt.

kandoux −  NTA.years ago I was hospitalized and my hospital roommate had her whole family over, like it was a party – when I just wanted to rest. They stayed after visiting hours and I was going crazy with frustration. I was pretty young (19 or so) and finally called the nurse and whispered to her to please make them leave d so I I could slip. You are there to rest, not to socialize!

cinnamongirl73 −  NTA!!! As a retired RN, firstly wanting to sleep after surgery is normal, and the exhaustion you feel can be….. erratic. Secondly, they shouldn’t have said anything to you about her having a fit over the fact she didn’t have anyone to talk to. It’s not YOUR responsibility to keep her entertained!!! And they told you to be kinder with your words?

Report that nurse to your patient advocate, or you could simply confront her and say “I don’t appreciate being told to be kinder with my words as I was tired and in pain. I didn’t say or do anything unkind. And you should probably have the entire story before you reprimand me-which in and of itself is unacceptable as I’m an adult. I’m within my right to not want to speak to anyone while recovering.”

ImaginaryAd5712 −  NTA you shouldn’t have to be dealing with this in the hospital and the nurse shouldn’t have upset you like that while you’re recovering.

Individual_Plan_5593 −  That nurse was out of line.

Fishby −  NTA. I had a hospital stay once and unfortunately had to share a room with the worst person. Her family in and out at all hours with comments like why is she in here- referring to me. Started taking over my side of the room…the highlight for me was at 1am when she was watching a movie on her ipad with no headphones at high volume. You did nothing wrong, you were there to recover. You are not there to make friends, your number one concern is you and your health. I’m surprised at the staff reaction.