One of the less-pleasant aspects of getting older is spending more time in hospitals, whether as a patient with a relative who is a patient. That means at some point you may find yourself needed to charge your phone, tablet, or laptop.
For example, my mother recently had a hospital stay and had her iPhone with her to communicate with the rest of the family and to keep her occupied (she uses the Kindle app a lot). We saw that her hospital bed actually had a couple of USB ports provided so patients could charge their devices.
Unfortunately, the ports were USB-A. Her charging cable is USB-C on both ends. Luckily, it was about 8 feet long and she brought the power brick, and we were able to use a wall outlet near the head of her bed. But this experience got me to thinking and I ordered a couple things to provide more flexible charging options.
- First, a two-pack of Anker USB-C to USB-C cables that are 10 feet long. Long charging cables are handy not just in hospitals, but also when travelling when you might not have easy access to an outlet.
- Second, a two-pack of USB-C to USB-A adapters. One of these would've been handy for my mother.
If you need extra charging bricks these Anker 20W chargers are good. They accept both USB-A and USB-C cables. I have a couple in regular use.
Velcro cable ties or Nite Ize Gear Ties are useful for keeping cables neat when not in use or if they are longer than needed.
The chargers and cables are cheap enough so you can buy a couple and keep one in a grab and go bag kept ready for unexpected hospital stays. Having them around gives you one less thing to worry about in a stressful situation.
Posts
