USVI-On-Line

We have a close friend going through a major medical crises. Blood clots in his lungs with a prognosis of no work for 6 months. As a pilot he has been forced to give up his medical certification. Although his prognosis was not good initially he has now come home and is on a routine of blood thinners for six months. We wanted to send him something to cheer him up a little as he is majorly bummed. Ideas? I would like to send fun and/or funny things. Plus maybe a few oddball things and then maybe a book or something more on the serious side.....i also think I am sending a bottle of vodka for his wife as I know the torture of taking care of a sick husband!!! Any ideas would be great - I know you will have ideas!!!

how about Bill Bryson's book 'a walk in the woods' seriously funny stuff--

How about a fun cookbook? Maybe he could take up a new hobby while he has to take it easy.

Does he like board games? I tried out a new one over the break called Hit or Miss. It was really fun and simple. You do need a minimum of three people so not sure if that would work, but kids can play if he has any, as long as they can write.

A subscription to Netflix might be good too, if he does not already have one.

loria wrote:how about Bill Bryson's book 'a walk in the woods' seriously funny stuff--

I agree. Almost anything by Bryson is very amusing. The only book of his that I didn't like was the Brief History of Everything, it just didn't hold my attention.

I 2nd the Netflix. Some light, fun series I have been watching on Netflix lately - Castle, Chuck, Arrested Development, Kitchen Confidential (only one season)

Sports Illustrated sub with a copy of the most current edition.
Harlen Coben books.
Lee Child books.
David Baldacci books.
Netflix sub.
Rocky gift pack of all the movies.
If he's a music person, maybe some CD's or bio's of his fav artists.

If he's on cumidin, blood thinner, i would nix the cooking book. Anything you bump into causes a nasty bruise. Even a light bump. When I cook I bump into shit all the time. Maybe's'just me

Here are some things that my wonderful DH got last summer as he went through chemo and radiation:

Things for the whole family:
Food baskets with wine, crackers and cheese, snacks etc. Gift cards to local restaurants and movie theaters.

More personal for him were:
• A Superman tee shirt (we both loved this and it goes with his 'never give up, never surrender' attitude)
• A dog-tag style necklace with an inspirational saying (he's not a jewelry wearer but still wears this daily)
• Lance Armstrong's book
• A book called Coach John Wooden (DH is a big basketball fan)
• ‘There’s No Place Like Hope’ by Vickie Girard, given to him by another cancer survivor.

Some other thoughts:
• A neighbor organized 6 weeks of dinners and rides to DH’s radiation treatment appointments. This was a huge stress reliever for both of us, maybe me even more than him as I also work full time. It was SO appreciated. We also had volunteer dog walkers for the days when I was at the hospital with him.
• The small electronic 20 Questions game (we found one at Target) is good for relieving boredom while waiting (good for kids on flights, too.)
• We set up a blog on CaringBridge.com. This was a GREAT way to keep friends and family up to date on his treatments and progress. It was rather cathartic for us as we were able to vent some of our emotions and experiences; it was uplifting to read all the well wishes of people signing the online guest book; and our friends all appreciated being able to get an update without feeling like they were bombarding us with phone calls. (And I have to say it was nice to be able to answer everyone’s questions at once rather than fielding all those phone calls.) So, if your friend is facing a prolonged battle (or even a short one) I would recommend this as a great way for him and his wife to let people know and let them express their well wishes.
• DH and I enjoyed re-watching one of our favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption. The final message of HOPE was very poignant for us.

My thoughts and prayers are with your friend for a full and speedy recovery.

Great ideas - thank you so much!! I am working on putting this together this week and getting it to our dear friend! I knew I could count on my fellow forumites for some good ideas!

How about an iTunes gift card? Does he have an iPod? (who doesn't, these days? ) That'll give him some new tunes to listen to while he's grounded.

chicagoans wrote:Here are some things that my wonderful DH got last summer as he went through chemo and radiation:

Things for the whole family:
Food baskets with wine, crackers and cheese, snacks etc. Gift cards to local restaurants and movie theaters.

More personal for him were:
• A Superman tee shirt (we both loved this and it goes with his 'never give up, never surrender' attitude)
• A dog-tag style necklace with an inspirational saying (he's not a jewelry wearer but still wears this daily)
• Lance Armstrong's book
• A book called Coach John Wooden (DH is a big basketball fan)
• ‘There’s No Place Like Hope’ by Vickie Girard, given to him by another cancer survivor.

Some other thoughts:
• A neighbor organized 6 weeks of dinners and rides to DH’s radiation treatment appointments. This was a huge stress reliever for both of us, maybe me even more than him as I also work full time. It was SO appreciated. We also had volunteer dog walkers for the days when I was at the hospital with him.
• The small electronic 20 Questions game (we found one at Target) is good for relieving boredom while waiting (good for kids on flights, too.)
• We set up a blog on CaringBridge.com. This was a GREAT way to keep friends and family up to date on his treatments and progress. It was rather cathartic for us as we were able to vent some of our emotions and experiences; it was uplifting to read all the well wishes of people signing the online guest book; and our friends all appreciated being able to get an update without feeling like they were bombarding us with phone calls. (And I have to say it was nice to be able to answer everyone’s questions at once rather than fielding all those phone calls.) So, if your friend is facing a prolonged battle (or even a short one) I would recommend this as a great way for him and his wife to let people know and let them express their well wishes.
• DH and I enjoyed re-watching one of our favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption. The final message of HOPE was very poignant for us.

My thoughts and prayers are with your friend for a full and speedy recovery.

Caring Bridge is wonderful. It's a fabulous way to keep up to date and not have to email/post on facebook, etc...