I, caregiver: Thoughtful gifts for the ill

I, caregiver: Thoughtful gifts for the ill

satu artikel yg menarik perhatian saya hari ahad lepas - tentang gifts/barang yang boleh kita hadiahkan kepada pesakit yg kita lawat di hospital - tak terfikir lak yg bunga sebenarnya kurang sesuai sebagai gift - walhal kita dok tengok dlm tv, asal tgk org sakit je, bawak bunga - kan dah salah maklumat tu.
tahniah kepada juneita johari, penulis artikel ni, sebab dah beberapa kali saya baca, tulisannya banyak menyedarkan saya tentang perkara2 lain, yg kita rasa remeh tapi sebenarnya penting


I’VE been in and out of hospitals nearly my entire adult life and have met not just visitors but also family members, relatives, friends, doctors and nurses.

I notice we seldom visit empty-handed. Pretty fragrant flowers and/or fruit baskets are most popular.

Then we were advised that fruit and flowers should be discouraged because flowers have pollens and insecticide and may be bad especially for patients in intensive care or with breathing problems. Fruit too may not be good for those on a restricted diet.

So what can we bring? My late mother used to recommend food items, especially for patients who have a caregiver who may not have the time to get meals or who prefer not to eat hospital food.

Timing is essential. You would not want to bring food after dinner or bring food that can easily spoil and emit bad smell.

If you know a patient is on a strict diet but cannot resist foods they should avoid, it is unkind to bring food.

Some years back I was admitted for pneumonia. I was so miserable. On the fourth day, when I felt a lot better, I received a small gift with an attached note: “Hope this cheers you up. Get well soon.”

It contained a small essential oil lamp with one-time use facial masks and scrubs. How delightful! When my sister visited later, she played beautician.

It was one of the most thoughtful gifts I’d ever received. It certainly went down on my list of gifts to give patients, along with travel-size shampoo, conditioner, soap and body lotion. I also find “dry shampoo” to be extremely useful for the bedridden.
When my mother was in hospital and not well enough to get out of bed, a hairstylist friend recommended the dry shampoo. It was so easy to use. I tried it on myself first. It was good and we both liked it.

My mother also received two types of blankets once — one small and cheery, the other a standard-size cotton blanket. She loved them. The cheery blanket took away the sombre mood of a hospital room.

On another occasion, she received a pashmina that came in handy for those of us who could not stand the air-conditioning. We took turns to use it.

A friend would keep a small bowl of sweets on her food table with a sign that reads “Please take one, especially if you’re a nurse”. She requested us to bring interesting sweets or chocolates.

When asked, she said the sweets were not for her but for her visitors and she wanted the nurses to be sweet on her too so that they would come by often to check on her.

Jellies are popular too. They are great for children and those who have just had an operation.

After tonsillitis surgery, the first thing my son asked for, apart from jellies, was his music. He could not be parted from his iPod. It was the same for my late father who asked me to download all the oldies and verses from the Quran.

There’s so much we can do to help people feel better. Caring does not begin and end with a hospital stay.

The trick is to find out what works for that person. If you know them well enough, then your task is that much easier.

Remember, you don’t always have to bring or buy something. Sometimes, a happy face, a cheery smile and a few good jokes or stories will do the trick.

This is why I have always admired creative people — especially those who are creative with their words, thoughts and gesture. They bring out the colour in life, making it vibrant for the intended person and to those around them.

Usually, their actions and deeds speak louder than words but the memory these make lasts for quite a while. And each time a kind gesture is remembered, the good, warm feeling is relived and brings about a smile