A father of four is going in for brain surgery. His wife and kids will be in the waiting room for several hours. A coworker is stopping by the hospital during that time and has offered to bring a basket of things for the family. Coworkers have already donated $30 to the cause and we are estimating a total of about $100 to spend of various items for the family while they wait.
The youngest of the kids are in high school, so no toys or anything like that. I’m thinking snack foods, and some candy might be appropriate. Some reading material for the long wait (any suggestions?). Maybe even some kind of pass-the-time card game or something. Probably some flowers to keep it cheery. Other than that, I’m drawing a blank.
Any suggestions on how to thoughtfully spend this money filling a gift basket for this waiting room family?
Set aside a dinner budget and have the coworker pick up something hot and simple on the way there - pizza or similar. Use the rest, and get simple games that have the right number of players - Uno is definitely good, and a pack of regular playing cards will give them a lot of options. A couple of paperbacks would also probably be welcome - something with a plot, that will draw the mind away. Look for the sort of fiction you’d want to read on your own vacation time (if you read fiction - if not, ask for second opinions from coworkers), or the like.
Of course, if you want to be a uber-geek, you can always include a fuzzy brain cell for snuggling while they wait, or for your coworker to snuggle while he recovers.
How about some of those travel size games. They have a lot of those now. Sorry, Trouble, Scrabble, Boggle etc.
Any co-workers got a hand held DVD player they could borrow? Buy the lastest DVD that might be enjoyed by all and by “enjoy” I mean pass the time. Just place on a note on it that co-worker X thought they may be able to use it and can return it when everything has settled down.
I think perhaps magazines would probably be better reading material than books because of the short pieces that don’t require too intense of focus on what you’re reading. I’d have a hard time concentrating on anything while my father was having brain surgery.
Esquire is (IMHO) a good men’s magazine (along the line of Details), if any of the “kids” are male and old enough for it to be appropriate.
Uno is an excellent game. If you get some puzzle magazines, get some mechanical pencils, too. Paper and pen or pencil for keeping score, or writing other stuff down.
I’d suggest some change, in a zipseal bag, for the vending machines.
Most people can eat pretzels, though not everyone loves them like I do. Seedless grapes are pretty good, with almost no mess. Peeled mini carrots are also good for snacking.
Magazines are a good point, and something the family can leave behind in the waiting room. The trashier, the better, IMHO – too bad the Weekly World News went out of business. I don’t normally buy that kind of thing, but hospital waits are a big exception in my book.
Tabloids (Star, Enquirer, People, etc.) are great. The articles are short, don’t require much concentration, they’re fluff (the family has enough serious stuff), and most of the same people who will claim “I wouldn’t have that trash in my house” will read them from cover to cover if they don’t think anybody’s looking.
Chewing gum (especially handy if any of them are smokers)
A nice dinner from an upscale market would be nice (I’m thinking Bristol Farms), plus a gift card for the closest coffee vendor. Light reading (“How about this leaflet on famous Jewish sports legends?”), some healthy snacks (not just sweet stuff, a sugar crash would be a drag).
I like the idea of a DVD player.
Been there recently- my 3 month old nephew just had a successful liver transplant. It sucks to sit and wait in that depressing place…
Many hospital waitiing rooms have games and jigsaw puzzles. My family plays a lot of cards, so regular and pinochle decks are something we always take. Although foods are a good idea, I think the chance to slip away and go to the cafeteria is good, just to break from the tenseness. I like crosswords and sudoku.
If the cafeteria is open, that is. At the Lucille Packard Childrens Hospital at Stanford, the cafeteria closes at 7:00 pm. :dubious: 'Cause, you know, people aren’t there all the time with sick little ones, right? :rolleyes:
When I was in a hospital waiting room for about a week straight waiting to see if my father was going to die, and frequently on the verge of completely losing my mind, i found a lot of solace in cartoon picture jigsaw puzzles that had been left there by previous families- sufficiently lacking in mirth to be appropriate, but definitely distracting and a fine thing to try to concentrate on. By the time we left I was hard set on going and buying a whole new stock of jigsaw puzzles and leaving them there, because they had been such a comfort.
I was going to come in to suggest crossword puzzles, either serious ones, or the cartoon sort that jormundgondir mentions. I’d go for the more serious ones, myself - the goal is to occupy the minds of the family so they’re not stressing. And I find crossword puzzles make for great together things to do with people, even strangers. Sit in a group, one person reading the clues, and then anyone who wants to join in, may.
Similarly, I imagine that some Mad-Libs, if one can find or print them out, would go well - too.
Not to suggest that Uno, or the travel sized game ideas aren’t good, just a few more relatively cheap ideas.
Finally, if you’re feeling particularly cruel: have someone print out a copy of The Eye of Argon, for them to read aloud in the waiting room.
I’ve always been a fan of those credit card-sized electronic Yahtzee/Hangman/etc games. I hate to fly and these distract me enough to get through it. And you can usually find them pretty cheap at CVS in the games section.
