Have You Ever Taken Care of a Sick Person?

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What can make that home-bound person feel special? One thing is to have a bell near the bedside, for them to ring if they need something. This is especially important for a sick child. Make a lap tray out of a strong box, by cutting a half-circle in the two long sides so that the box will fit over the patient as he sits up in the bed to eat or to do another activity if it’s OK for him to sit up. For a child, make sure they have some fun things to do to keep them busy and for an older person, something to read would be good. One thing that I do quite often when I know someone is going to be bed-ridden for a few days, maybe following surgery. I put together a gift bag full of small gifts. With instructions. Very important. The gifts are numbered. Day 1, Day 2 etc. They are allowed to open only ONE gift per day, in order. And the idea is that they will wait until that time of the day when they are feeling sorry for themselves. This gives them something to look forward to every day. The gifts, of course, will be wrapped and they will be chosen by you based on the age, sex, and interests of the patient. A small box of tissues is always a nice gift for Day 1. An easy crossword puzzle book. Some sweet treats, if allowed. A toy. Hand cream Chap stick Go to the Dollar Tree or similar store and look around. There are plenty of things to choose from. When I have done this for several persons, they are so surprised and thankful. They always say that they really did look forward to their little gift each day and it brightened their day.