Thursday, May 30, 2019

Beauty for Being in the Hospital


We have a young friend who is having surgery this week and I wanted to put together some goodies for both her and her mama for their time in the hospital. A hospital is not a homey place and I hope this will provide a little beauty in their time as well as some encouragement for their hearts.

I confess that I actually Googled this and looked on Pinterest and most of the ideas I found were for new moms, which is great, but doesn't fit the need I was looking for. What do you do for an almost teen going to the hospital? This is very personalized to what I know suits them - but maybe could be a good jump off point for ideas if you are able to serve in this way as well!

The printable is from Hymns From a Hospital Room. I also wanted to make a little garland to add beauty and truth to her room. I'm sharing it as a printable in case you can use it for the same reason - to bless someone else and I made both a boys and girls version.



Other things I thought of: a tiny bottle of Essential Oils - especially Thieves to protect from other germs, a CD of worship songs, a magazine for the waiting, foods that can be easily eaten or heated away from a kitchen, cute socks, blank note cards.

What other ideas do you have?

6 comments:

Ginger said...

My cancer surgery was in July of 2008. I will NEVER forget how you and your sweet children visited me. That small act of kindness will stay with me forever!

Unknown said...

Nice kleenex or puffs... hospital kleenex are the worst! (and having been both a nurse and a patient-I know!)... and a fun movie....I find a lot of times, if someone is in the hospital, they are medicated and can't really concentrate well on reading...so a favorite show is always a nice option to pass the time :)
Leanne

Mary Ann said...

You have such a beautiful heart, Monica! I love this post and having been on the receiving end of gifts and generosity while dealing with a major illness in the family, I can attest to the fact that it means so much to be remembered at a time like this.

Some ideas I have in addition to your great ones are: cash (bills and quarters) for buying food either at cafeteria or vending machine, flavor packets to add to water bottles, coloring book with colored pencils and a sharpener(I am not a big coloring person but enjoyed it while waiting during chemo and surgeries; it was easy to put down and come back to), travel pack of Kleenex (hospital grade is pretty abrasive--lol, small notebook and pen to jot down notes, Visa gift card for food or gas, even some travel size toiletries if the caregiver can't get home to shower, word search or crossword puzzle books.

Nothing too big and bulky since some hospital rooms are super tiny with zero storage space.

For a child/ teenager, I'd suggest a "Sunshine Box" that has small gifts individually wrapped, enough for 1 per day. (Something to look forward to each day!) DVDs (our hospitals all had DVD players in the rooms; these could even be loaned from your own collection if you know the person well), travel games or even homemade games like felt tic tac toe or a fabric memory game depending on the age of the child, small Dollar Tree or Target gift card to use once they have recovered or mom can go get some other things they'd like, snacks they love.

Andy loved eating crystallized ginger through chemo and major abdominal surgeries. Ginger is good for nausea and the sugar made it more palatable but these helped settle his stomach many times. Knowing that now, I would include a package of crystallized ginger if the recipient is going through chemo or abdominal surgery.

*carrie* said...

Love it, Monica! Way to JUST SHOW UP! Very thoughtful and creative as always.

Your name on your header looks so pretty!

Tina said...

I love all of these ideas! One thing I noticed with all of our recent hospitalizations was the cost of food! Just for me, a meal would run $7-$10. Even something small, like a muffin and coffee was $5 or more. So gift cards or money would be helpful to those who are enduring these things. Homemade goodies like breakfast muffins or simple things that don’t require you to leave your loved one would be awesome! Sometimes, patients have very little appetite, especially for hospital food. Make a phone call and ask if there is a home cooked plate that can be brought in. Just make sure you check dietary requirements. We had a friend that was involved in a terrible accident. He requested chicken and rice and I delivered once it was approved by the nurse. Also, any type of uplifting material. Emergency situations often leave people without their Bible! There is a store near me called Ollie’s. I’ve found nice Bibles and devotionals and all kinds of reading material for adults and children VERY CHEAP there. This was a great post Monica!

Angela Wood said...

My husband had a year from you know where with hospital stays last year battling a gone bad cancer procedure. Anyway...while he was usually sleeping that left me with lots of thinking time or terrible hospital tv. The sweetest person brought me a goodie bag. It was full of prayers, a coloring book with bible verses, colored pencils, word find book, southern living magazine, mints, gum, nuts, hard candy, m & m's, toothbrush and toothpaste, gift card to chick fil a...across the street, a roll of quarters and stack of $1 dollar bills....for the vending machine! Each hospital stay I would refill that wonderful bag of kindness! Thank goodness we have not been back in several months!