What can I put in a care package for Mum's hospital stay?

[HariboStarmix]

My Mum's booked in for an operation next month that will involve about a week's hospital stay. I want to give her some bits to take; a mix of practical and nice. So far I thought a book, wet wipes, maybe a cotton nightie? Would love to hear some ideas for other things I could include that people have found to be useful or make things a bit more tolerable.

Thanks!

Is she allowed snacks? If so some breakfast biscuits (Belvita etc) could be nice. Handy to have if you get peckish between meals

Dry shampoo is good too if showering is difficult but you want to look a bit fresher. Maybe a nice facial moisturiser too.

I hope her op' goes smoothly and she recovers quickly!

Earplugs - as she might not get her own room.
Dressing gown
Book/magazines
Cozy socks
Chocolate

All great shouts so far and added to the list. I'm sure she'll be allowed snacks after the first few days at least.

Thanks for the well-wishes Wearealladults 🙂

Some nice squash/cordial. Warm water out of a plastic jug is not nice.

Ear plugs, eye shades, maybe a hand-held fan (wards can get incredibly hot) or a blanket/throw/dressing gown of her own (they can also be cold and we don't tend to have extra blankets to give out, depending on the ward of course). Puzzle book? I'd agree definitely with her own clothes if they are practical post-surgery. Dry shampoo, hand and face wipes. I got an old phone for my Dad when he was in for a while, put some of his favourite music and some audio books/comedy podcasts on for him to dip into. Does she like things like that? Of course, needs to come with headphones!

Does she have glasses and hearing aids? If so, I would strongly suggest having cases for them, and labelling them up before hand.

Yes she does wear glasses all the time so probably doesn't have / wouldn't think to take a case.

Thanks so much everyone, I would never have thought of half these things.

If she has a smart phone/kindle - an extra long cable like this:

When looking for nighties - soft stretchy ones are best. T-shirt material. Easier to get on & off and tend to be less sweaty!

Shower gel/body wash, deodorant, a brush or comb. Dry shampoo if showering won’t be possible - actual shampoo if it will.

Also, on my ward, we never have spare pillows. Most patients get one - the lucky few get two. For that reason, I would recommend sending her in with a pillow. Labelled of course.

And yes to squash or flavoured bottled water.

I hope it goes well.

Definitely second books/magazines (the latter are "easier" if you're tired). If she has a kindle, a kindle voucher so she could choose some books? A pair of nice slippers with rubber/grippy soles?

Lip balm? Hand cream? I always find hospitals really hot and "drying".

The other thing that's nice - I find you're always getting up to go to the bathroom/scans etc in a nightie, a lovely dressing gown is a treat.

Some nice juice bottles/cartons?

Another thing that isn't obvious, but a small box to put things like watch/glasses/chargers in to keep everything tidy on the table.

A travel mug/metal straws to make it easier to drink propped up?

Fluffy socks. lip balm, all bits others have said. but remember storage is limited so perhaps take bits as visiting and take bits away

If you want to include a little gift for the nurses, a pack of good quality black pens is always much appreciated.

Pillows with cases which you change regularly. Hospital pillows are awful.

If she is having a general anaesthetic....
A straw
Juice
Suckable sweets ( for the sore throat from tube)
Lip balm.
I’d go for nice slippers as may have surgical stockings on.
I’d also go for a stretchy loose nightie.
Dry shampoo
Wipes
Nice moisturiser
Book/ music with headphones
Mints

Hope she recovers well

Headphones, whenever Dad was in hospital, the ones that were supposed to come with his bedside/overhead TV thing were always missing. Cotton buds. Proper tissues, the hospital ones are always tiny and rough. Phone charging cables and a wall plug with USB socket on it.

Remember there isn't much storage space so she won't be able to have lots of things and if they are moving her between wards the nurses won't want to be moving lots either. As long as she has a phone she can text what she needs brought/taken away/washed each day.

FurryDogMother those headphones are supposed to be single use. For infection control purposes, we have to throw them away after each patient. New ones aren’t automatically put out as not all patients want them and - once they’re unwrapped - they have to be thrown away when that bed space is empty & cleaned again! So they’re kept in a cupboard, available on request. Maybe the ward your dad was on did the same?

When I was in hospital my main thing which kept me same fitting the long noisy nights was an ipad for which I purchased a weeks wifi, plus some comfortable head phones. Obviously there are cheaper tablets that's just what I used. Plus there wasn't enough food, despite ticking large portions! So plenty of snacks she likes, I also had cartons of longlife milk as calorific extra drinks. I had protein bars and loads of nuts and seeds. Flip flops for the shower, wet wipes for hands and face, Box of tissues these are all things I found essential.

Notanotherbunchofflowers - google it. A friend of mine set up this after her cancer - lots of gentle stuff for patients!!!!

Sleep mask
Water bottle

A bottle of Boots old fashioned Rosewater and glycerine, and a little spray bottle to decant it into. Wards can be really stuffy and sometimes you just want to mist yourself.

Also second eye mask and ear plugs - might be worth looking at the sleep earphones you can get on Amazon etc which come in a stretchy band so you can fall asleep with white noise or music

And keep her topped up with fresh fruit if you can - meals can be a bit beige

Comfy nightie, jersey ones are good.
Snacks, my sister had a stay in hospital and liked the mini packs of biscuits.
Lipbalm, hospitals seem to dry you out.
Face/wet wipes.
Slippers and a dressing gown, in case she is able/wants to go for a wander.
Check what the food is like, hospital my sister was in had awful food and we took her sandwiches in.
Nice drinks, cordials.
Mobile, books, magazines.

A little bottle of hand sanitizer gel
Magazines
Earplugs
Drinks and snacks
Travel size toiletries if she'll be able to shower
Peppermint tea bags

My t-shirt nightie is from Debenhams and is really comfy.

Headphones and audio books are a great idea - the double advantage of shutting out the bustle of the ward and being able to listen with your eyes closed - sometimes reading an actual book is surprisingly tiring.