My grandfather is one of those unfortunate people whose body had totally gone downhill while his mind has stayed sharp. I say unfortunate because he is so bored and unable to do much of anything because he is bedridden. I have bought tapes of his favorite British sit-coms, puzzles, etc… and now I am running out of ideas. I will be going to see him for Thanksgiving and want to do something special. Does anyone have any ideas for a good activity for a bedridden person. He is a very smart person, he just can’t get out of bed or sit up for long periods of time.
Thanks in advance!
PS - This is my first thread (yay!) so please let me know if this is the wrong place.
Get tapes of his favorite music. Or ask him what he’s never heard before but would like to.
Maybe everyone in the family could chip in to buy him a computer and get him surfing the Internet.
What about a good tape player and some books on tape? You can get almost any book on tape now. This is especially good if he use to read alot and can’t now because of vision or other health problems.
A computer would be neat too. Maybe a lap top he can use in bed. Send him to the game zone and I will play cribbage with him.
I hope that you have a nice visit with him.
Take a tape recorder with you and some blank tapes, and ask your Grandad all about when he was younger, funny tales about your Grandma/parents/you/holidays, what he did during the war/s… sort through piles of old photos, putting names to faces you don’t recognise… Together, work out your family tree (this may throw up some surprises! record these & everyone’s reactions!), and your Grandad’s own ‘Life Story’.
This is the kind of thing everyone wishes they had the time to do and never have - time is something he has plenty of!!
Thank you for the good suggestions. I didn’t thing about the fact that he may not be reading as much anymore because of his eyesight. I also love the idea of having a recorded oral history from him. I am going to start emailing ideas to my aunt right now!
I once worked in a nursing home, so I have lots of ideas about how to keep old people busy!
- Take a video camera to the next family gathering, holiday dinner, reunion, whatever. Allow each person to tape their greetings to the grandfather. Take it to special events of different grandchildren… recitals, performances, graduations, marriages, etc. Keep the tapes coming! He’ll enjoy staying in touch with the family. If everyone is scattered all over, send the camera around and ask everyone to tape something and send it on… a chain video! Actually my family does this for me sometimes, since I live 1200 miles away from everyone. I love it, I get to see my neice’s gymnastics competitions and I don’t have to go to Ohio in February!
- If he’s bedridden at home, bring him a calm animal, like a kitten or something to play with for short periods of time. Dogzilla (IRL) would be a bad choice, she’s too bouncy and Tigger-like, but you get the idea.
- Many of my ideas involve good manual dexterity and I’m getting the idea he’s losing his so these might not be good… I was thinking of little projects he could do with his hands: painting, pottery, whittling/woodworking, that sort of thing. That sounds like it takes more energy than even I have, so for what it’s worth…
- Get him out of bed and into a wheelchair so you can take him outside for little walks and jaunts in the sunshine on nice days. Feed ducks at the park or something… depending on where he lives, weather permitting, etc.
If I think of anymore, I’ll post here again…