I need ideas for a patient who is 21 and had a head trauma case and is now in rehab and needs things to make his stay better
Paula
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Why not make a video with Get Well messages from all his friends & family? You could make a photo album as well or scrapbook the Get Well cards received. Maybe art supplies would be good. A sketch pad, colored pencils, watercolors and/or markers. Maybe a tape recorder to keep an audio diary, play their favorite songs or relaxing nature sounds, or send messages back home to friends and family. Also, a small stuffed animal to hug is always appreciated no matter the age!
I am 20 and I love to sit and do puzzles when i get the time it makes time pass by quickly and I think that it helps when you are bored also. Just get a puzzle of a picture that the person might like. Like if it is a boy fine one of a car or something. And another thing is model cars you can find them at any local department store like walmart and they are in the toy section.
What were this person's interests before the trauma? Magazines and / or books of any of these interests. Cd, commercial or custom made. Lots of visits, letters and cards from everyone. Get all his/her friends to send cards-even postcards on a rewgular basis. Maybe Friend A every Mon., Friend B every Tues, etc for as long as necessar4y. When your friend is up to it and back home, include him in activities, even tho it might be inconvenient to you. How about a meal from a fav restaurant or fast food place, if appropriate. ? If in a hospital, personalized toiletries are so muuch nicer than hospital issue.
My sister-in-law suffered a head trauma injury many years ago. Depending on which side of the brain is injured (and how badly) will depend on what they are able to do. Many with head injuries have to be re-taught everything all over again and even now, many years later, my sister-in-law cannot keep focussed long enough to do a puzzle, read a book, etc. It is very hard to understand, especially when it appears on the outside that they are "normal".
The recent movie that just came out on DVD with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore called "50 First Dates" gives some humor to a head injury patient and some insight to how things can be for some of them. The movie went to some extreme, but not far from the truth.
Many head injury patients deal with circulation problems. They are cold a lot and like sweaters, blankets, socks, etc. Depending on the severity of the injury he may deal with aggression and anger and depression as well. If he has any paralization and is in the hospital bed for any length of time, he may like things like lotion (the deep moisturizing kind) and chapstick for dry lips. Or if he has a CD player in his room, he may enjoy nice relaxing music. Depending on how close you are to this person, more than likely they aren't able to shave any more. The head injury can affect motor skills and they tend to be shaky and unable to shave safely.
Some head injury patients come out as if nothing is wrong. They can live almost normal lives, except for memory loss. Like I said, just depending on the severity and which part of the brain was damaged will determine what you are looking at.
My heart goes out to you and the family of your friends. It is a long rough road ahead. But if anyone can be a testament to miracles, my sister-in-law was in a coma for six months and came out of it. The family was told she would be a vegetable and would never walk or talk again. She has since re-learned everything (up to the day of her accident, so mentally she is still 17) and at one time came very close to regaining her driver's license, she had her own apt., her own bank account, and was working on her GED. So please, please, please tell your friends family not to take to heart everything they are told as to what he will ever be able to do or not do again! With head injury, you never know!
She had several traumatic things happen to her that caused her to go in "reverse" and she never did accomplish her GED or driver's license and goes through times of struggling with memory more than others, but she is alive and well and that is what matters to us! Good luck!
I was replying to say that we have two people close to us with head injury. My brothers father-in-law fell from a ladder while building a house and now is permanently brain damaged and then my sister-in-law my husbands sister) had also had a head injury when she was 17. Mentally, she is pretty much still 17. She was in a coma for 6 months and then came out of it like a vegetable. The family had been told that she would never walk or talk again and against every Dr.'s opinions, she has relearned everything. Her long-term memory is the same. She can remember her past up to the day of her accident. It is her short term memory that is affected.
You will find that with head injury so many things are determined by the severity of the injury and the location of which part of the brain had been injured. Some head injury appear as though nothing is wrong, but have memory problems. Others are more severe.
Many head injury patients have trouble with circulation. Even after all of these years, my sister-in-law has trouble with circulation. They are cold a lot and like to wear socks, sweaters and cuddle in blankets. If he is in rehab, he may like things like moisturizing lotion and chapstick. Depending on how close you are to this person, they may not be able to safely shave with a razor and may have to use an electric razor. If he has a CD player in his room he may like calm relaxing music to go to sleep with at night. Some head injury go through angry and depressed times and it is hard for them to grasp. Depending on his motor skills, he may need things like a bath mit to slide onto his hands verses a wash rag that may be hard for him to hold on to and grip, or a bath brush or scrubby on a stick verses one you have to hold. For some reason holding the item and making it move don't always connect in the brain, especially so soon after the accident. Head injury also tend to connect with sites, smells, etc of before their accident. You may find out if he had a favorit cologne and he may want to wear that while in the hospital to boost his esteem.
I hope that some of this helps. It is hard to think of getting into their minds and thinking things from their perspective. That new movie (just out on DVD) with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore gives a little insight into this world. It is called, "50 First Dates". They went to a little extremes, but not far from the truth either. At least someone could share some humor in this. WIth head injury, if you can't find humor in it somewhere, you have a very difficult time dealing with it all. My heart goes out to you and your friends family. Good luck!
Hi Tawnda
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Thanks for posting!
Susan
I don't know if this would be appropriate for your friend in the hospital, depending on the extent of their brain injury, but it worked for me. When I was in the hospital waiting for a heart transplant, my younger sister made me a basket full of small presents, about 14, and I got to open one up each day. You would be surprised at how much fun that is in the hospital when you have very little to look forward to. The presents were small, nail polish, clippers, little Bible cards, hair clips, etc. But the idea of a basket full of presents was pretty cool for me. Good Luck and God bless. susan from CT.
My mother had a head injury about 14 years ago where she was in a ooma for 3 months and has the exact same symptoms as Tawnda sister in-law in the post above. I would recommend a nice notebook or planner where a patient can write things down so they it can help with short term memory items. Hope that helps.
Hi! There is a website called raspberrybee.com that has adorable designer hospital gowns. I bought one for my neice after her back surgery and she loved it. They have 2 styles and they have lots of different prints to choose from. I bought one in a Lilly Pulitzer fabric and it was totally adorable. The link for the hospital gown website is http://www.raspberrybee.com The lady who took my order said that they will be making children's hospital gowns soon.
Hi! There is a website called raspberrybee.com that has adorable designer hospital gowns. I bought one for my neice after her back surgery and she loved it. They have 2 styles and they have lots of different prints to choose from. I bought one in a Lilly Pulitzer fabric and it was totally adorable. The link for the hospital gown website is http://www.raspberrybee.com The lady who took my order said that they will be making children's hospital gowns soon.
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