How to help a friend whose child is having a big operation

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Hello
I’m looking for some ideas on how to help a friend whose child will have to have a big operation soon.
The child is in their early teens with multiple disabilities, they are non verbal and blind with very limited mobility.
I would like to get the child a little present for their hospital stay and also help their mum as much as I can but I’m struggling with ideas, so far I’ve thought of a sensory-friendly soft toy which makes noises or maybe a book which makes noises, does anyone have any other suggestions?
Many thanks for your help!

That’s lovely of you OP. I think a sensory toy is a great idea. As for mum her favourite chocolates? Just knowing you’re there for them will help so much x

What about nice ready meals for your friend to take the pressure off at home/make sure she looks after herself? Cook do some good frozen ones.

As for her child, do they listen to audiobooks? If they have a tablet you could get an Audible voucher for some stories to listen to?

I do some batch cooking so she can just grab something tasty out the freezer without having to think about cooking.

Someone did this for me during a similar time and I was forever grateful for some good home cooked food

Thanks so much for the suggestions , batch cooking is a great idea, they’ll both be staying at the hospital the first week but I could definitely make some lasagna or something similar for when they’re back home.

I don’t know if her child currently listens to audiobooks but that’s something I can look into, thanks so much for all your help! X

Lots of ready meals and snacks that they can take to the hospital - parents don't get fed but there will be a parents break room with a fridge and microwave.
Find out what retailers/cafes are on the hospital site (ie Costa/M+S etc) and get some gift vouchers.

Earplugs for your friend (although she may already be a seasoned hospital stayer). We got our son a ‘Guess how much I love you’ bunny, it was able to go down to theatre with him so there when he came round in recovery, although he’s severely disabled the long ears made him easy to hold and chew on without any worry about bits coming off or choke hazard.

You sound a lovely friend.

A bag of snacks for the hospital.

Do they have other children or pets that need caring for? Offer to walk the dog, collect siblings etc.

If they're looking at a week long stay offer to collect laundry, wash it and bring it back for them.

I've spent a lot of time in hospital with DD recently.

The things friends/family did which made a huge difference were to come in to the hospital and spend some time with me and DD. If you can offer to sit with her DD for an hour so your friend can go out for some fresh air and to sit at a proper table to have a coffee and a few minutes to herself I'd start with this.

Take fresh food in for her. You feel horrible after a couple of days of living from the shop in the hospital even if it's an M&S. A friend brought a box of freshly chopped crudités in for me as well as a dinner she'd prepared. I was so grateful!

And if you can offer to take their worn clothes away, wash them and bring them back then this is also really helpful.

My SIL and one of my friends did the above and I am so so grateful to them. Saved my sanity actually feeling like I had some people who understood what I might need.

Lots of people sent presents for DD which is lovely but it also added to my list of things to do making sure I thanked everyone.

Oh wow, these are all brilliant ideas, she does have pets so I will check and see if she needs any help looking after them and I love the idea of taking in some fresh food too, I had chocolate on my list for her but I’ll add some veggies and nice bits and bobs for her too.
Thank you all so much!