In the event of a zombie apocalypse, don't expect to survive if you wake up in the hospital and the world has changed.
We've seen it a dozen times, our hero wakes up from a coma in the hospital to find everyone's gone and the hospital looks like a bomb went off. Our hero who is completely ignorant to what happened during their slumber somehow manages to survive by some miracle, thanks to the help of someone who just happened to be close by.
In reality, if you wake up in an empty hospital, you're not going to make it out the front door. However, don't fret there is still hope if you're the lucky one to sleep through the beginning of the apocalypse. First off, you're reading this so your chances have just increased. Second, as much as you may need to, DON'T go down that dark stair way! If the hospital has been over run, chances are this is where you're going to find the undead. Don't believe everything you see on television and in the movies, you're not gonna find your way out via inclosed stairway. Try to locate a window that leads to a roof. Most hospitals have multiple roofs on different levels, and if you're lucky enough you can jump down from one to another until you reach the ground. You can also try lacing bed sheets together and climbing to the ground from a window, (The Mythbusters have proven that it's possible to do). Otherwise, your only other option is the elevator shaft. How do you slide down the cables without ripping yourself to shreds? You're going to need to use your smarts like MacGyver. You could once again try bed sheets, to lower yourself down. You can also try getting on top of one of the elevators and cutting the cable. By doing this you can ride the elevator down a couple of floors just before the emergency breaks kick in. Or you could use the fire hoses like John McClain. What ever you choose to do to get to the ground floor, just remember DO NOT try the stair case.
Third, find yourself a weapon. Anything will do as long as it can go through bone. Hospitals are ripe with a number of nifty tools you can use to increase your chances.
Fourth, locate the pharmacy in the hospital. It's usually on the ground floor, and probably the only pharmacy in town that's still stocked up. Most people forget about this little tid bit, which is why it'll be the last place with medicine. Grab pain killers, inhalers, nausea medicine, and antibiotics.
Fifth, make your way to the security office. Again, they're usually located on the ground floor and will probably have weapons do to police also being stationed there. Gather up any weapon you can find, even if it's just handcuffs.
Sixth, locate the emergency room. If you plan on leaving, your best bet is an ambulance. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, the emergency room exit will be loaded with them due to large amounts of injured people being brought in prior to full blown Zombiegeddon. Most of these ambulances should still have the keys inside, so you can make a clean exit.
After you've left the hospital, you'll want to make your first stop at home. Grab at least 3 pairs of clothing boots included.The clothing you'll want to grab will be jeans, shirts, and leather jacket as well as a winter coat. Grab gloves as well, preferably leather because you'll need them. After gathering clothing that you can travel with, you're going to want to grab as many knives, guns, pitch forks, baseball bats and duck tape as you can travel with. Make absolutely sure that you grab lighters and matches as well, and if need be lighter fluid. If there's any food that's still good, grab a snack and some munchies for the road.
As soon as you leave your house, you'll want to try to locate at least one other person you can rely on to watch your back. If you find someone, make sure they aren't injured. If they are injured, try to bandage them up as best you can and help them to a safe location and be on your way, they'll only slow you down and if they survive you may need them to return the favor some day. Then keep trying to find another lone survivor or small group.
Coming next time, survival clothing for Zombiegeddon.