I don't know about you, but before this last stint in the hospital, I had never been a patient in a hospital (except for when I was born) before. I was always at a loss as to what to get people while they are in the hospital.
After spending 13 days in the hospital, and receiving some really lovely and thoughtful gifts, I have some great ideas as to what people actually need in the hospital.
Food Basket With or Without Gift Card
The food in the hospital is
terrible, and if the patient has a spouse that spouse will have to go to the cafeteria to by each of his or her meals because they don't deliver these items right to your room. Also, leaving the hospital to go pick up food is challenging because you have to find your car, leave the hospital, drive somewhere, come back, re-park, and make your way back to the hospital room.
In a big city and big hospital, this can be a pain in the neck. So M and I loved it when people brought by food, but one of the things that worked really great for us was an
LABite gift card. The service is basically a delivery service. You put in an order on the website to local restaurants for take out, and then they go and pick it up for you and deliver it to your room. The drivers are really good and professional. They brought the food to our hospital room, not just to the hospital. I know that in major cities across the United States they have other similar services. NOTE: before you buy this card you should check to see if the patient is allowed to eat outside food. Although, it might still be a good gift for the family that is spending a round the clock time at the hospital.
A fruit basket, although conventional, is also really nice because as a patient you often want a snack during the day and don't necessarily want to be eating a lot of junk food as you are laying in a hospital bed all day (although baked items are also certainly appreciated). The basket should have fruit of course that is not already cut as the patient may have no access to a refrigerator.
Activities Basket
Games are awesome while your in the hospital. You don't want the game to be too long or too complicated, remember these games will be played with hospital visitors who usually stay about an hour. Also, depending upon the reason the patient is in the hospital, you may want a game that does require the patient to move much. I know for the first 3-4 days in the hospital, I really wasn't allowed to sit up except for meal time. Two awesome games under this scenario are: cards,
Monopoly Deal and
Spot it. Both of these games are easy to explain and take about 20 mins or less to play per round.
Magazines and Books. So these of course are awesome, and I loved it when people stopped by with magazines. I never actually got to a book because of the constant interruptions (can you say nurses, lab people, tech people, constantly in our room at random times during the day and night), I really couldn't get into one.
However, one thing that kept happening is we would get a lot of repeat magazines. So an iTunes or Amazon gift card for this reason would be a really great idea if you know that the person has an iPad, Kindle or other such device. Then you cut down on the possibility of repeats, and the gift recipient is going to be able to pick magazines that he or she doesn't already have.
Internet Hot spot. Do you have an Internet hot spot just lying around? Lend it to the person in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Even if the hospital has wireless Internet, it is likely that the Internet will go down or not be reliable. If you have a data limit though, make sure everyone understands this.
Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go. If the hospital has Internet access, this is a great distraction. In fact, if you already get these services you could let the patient use your account for a month or a couple of weeks, if they don't already have one. The terms of service for these services often allows up to 5 devices to use the service. If you don't want to do lending, then there is always an iTunes gift card.
Personal Gift Basket
Shower, Hair. One of my friends purchased a really nice bath soap for me when I was in the hospital. It was awesome. My shower in the morning was the best part of my day, and having a new scent to wash with was really nice. Other ideas for this would be aromatherapy shampoo, conditioner and lotion. If the patient can't get out of bed, nice dry shampoo etc.
One friend also offered to have her mother (a hair stylist) come and do my hair one day, this was a great offer, I didn't take her up on the offer b/c I was released from the hospital shortly thereafter, but had I been in the hospital one day longer I would have!
Hand sanitizer, this is really needed when you are in the hospital. I couldn't get up very often, but I often wanted to wash my hands. Having hand sanitizer close was really nice.
Manicure Set or Service. I did my nails a lot while in the hospital so a little manicure set with fingernail polish would also be nice. Even better would be to arrange to have someone you know that does nails to come to the hospital to do the patients nails. This is definitely something I want to do for someone some day.
P.J.'s, robe, slippers, and flip flops. When I went to the hospital, I really wasn't thinking I would be spending the night let alone two weeks there. My sister-in-law sent P.J.'s for me to wear while in the hospital. Once I didn't have to wear the hospital gown anymore this was really nice to have. It made me feel like a human again.
Flip flops and slippers. I didn't do a lot of walking in the hospital, but flip flops for any shower that is not your own is an awesome idea! I was surprised as to how little our bathroom was cleaned while we were in the hospital, and how dirty our hospital room floor was. So these are always a good idea.
Other Gifts
Although conventional, flowers and plants are also really great. Hospitals are so sterile (even though I don't think they are all that clean), and when your in the hospital you really miss going outside. I loved these gifts and your room is automatically brightened when you have plants and flowers around your room.
My sister-in-law also sent pictures that my nieces drew, and this was really nice to pin up in the hospital. They made me smile often.
So these are just some ideas. Hope this helps!
Xoxo,
-A
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