Gift after a stroke?

Maybe wait until the lady concerned has returned home & then send flowers 💐

A pretty Alice band? My friend who had a stroke got very irritated with her hair and used one to keep her hair off her face.

It’s really hard to think what would be nice to get, but that wouldn’t be in the way like flowers or maybe not appropriate.

Maybe a magazine subscription

A close friend was grateful for nice hand cream after experiencing a stroke. Her daughter and sometimes the staff used it to massage her hands to help relax her.

I think nice hand cream sounds a good idea. If the lady is unable to use it herself, someone could massage it in for her, close contact could be comforting depending on the circumstances. Maybe pretty socks/slipper socks if she’s not moving about much yet. Wishing her good progress.

I think I saw something called ‘a hug in a box’ on Amazon once it contained some chocolate and hand cream and other things. Have a look , or perhaps you could make up something similar with some chocolate and some nice smelling toiletries. How has her stroke affected her, is she still able to read and write? If so a nice novel or some magazines or even an adult colouring book and pencils.

My husband had his stroke last Nov and was in hospital over Christmas. A local charity (either Lions or Round Table) left piles of gifts for each stroke patient. I could hardly see him in the bed for gifts!

They included: plush throw, bedsocks, chocolates, stroke recovery activity book, scarf and beanie hat, pens and pencils, small knitted santa and a load more that I can’t remember.

Depends how bad it is.
Some stroke patients are much worse than others.
If she can swallow maybe some chocolates - but can she unwrap them - you may need two hands.
She may not be able to read - the brain eye coordination bay not yet be good.

My mother-in-law liked magazines with stiff pages as she couldn't manage to turn the pages on thin or flimsy ones.

Her stroke consultant suggested earphones so she could listen to the radio. We had to take a radio too of course - and set the programme.

Just send a card until you know.

Send a card for now. And wait until she is home . That way you will know what to give depending on her mobility. But practical things are better than fluff. I have an Ucello kettle not spelt correctly but it's a safe kettle that is easy to tip using one hand. I fill mine with a jug and use the jug to put boiling water into a saucepan. It was £58 best buy ever as it specially made not to tip over and needs little effort to use . If that's to much a 2 handled cup not one of those awful plastic things but Etsy sells pretty like weight china ones .

As she is in a stroke unit after some weeks in hospital it must have been reasonably severe Couldn’t your daughter in law give you some ideas as you don’t want to be duplicating things
It’s a shame they stopped flowers in hospital as they were so nice for patients to look at
Have you seen those cards that pop up into a beautiful vase of flowers sold online ?

I am thinking of later on when she is at home. Depending on what area the stroke has affected, could you think about what her interests are and find something to help her still be able to do things. For instance, I used to take patients to various clinics and had the RNIB catalogue which was very helpful. One item was very popular and that was larger playing cards with clear colours. We have a gentleman whose sight has got much worse, and could no longer go to the whist drive that he had been with for years. These cards let him go back to the group, taking his cards to whichever table he sat at and they were also easy to pick up. They also had dominoes with raised dots and colours, which again made good gifts. Another possibility is one of these small lamps, with a very good clear lighting and easy to put on, I have seen one where you just push the top of the lamp and it lights. So this might allow her to put on lights where a small switch could be problematical. Again, if her hands are not affected, possibly a grabber could be helpful, to pick things up from the floor. Anything that lets her be a bit more independant and less frustrated.

I dont know how much it would cost or whether you might suggest it to your children more, but if she doesnt have Alexa, that could be very good. It is set up with your internet, if she has that. I cant remember what it is actually called but you have this little round thing set up by someone for you and then you can just say Alexa radio 3 or off or louder or whatever. I find it brilliant, as I do not have to get up and down to change the channels and you can also get it to go onto things like radio 4 extra, all by voice only and you do not have to move from your seat. Then at least she can choose what she wants to listen to, without having to ask other people to do it for her. A much smaller thing might be to get her some essential oils, such as lavender and rose . If she is able to have a bath they can make it lovely and soothing to add tot hem, or they can be used for massage oils and it may help to make things a little better for her, but just the pleasure of someone stroking and touching her with these lovely smells could be enjoyable, as I feel we do not always get the kind of pleasurable contact touching as we get older. Hope this is of some help

Did you find out what condition she has been left in, ferry?
It's hard to give ideas without knowing

NotSpaghetti

Did you find out what condition she has been left in, ferry?
It's hard to give ideas without knowing

I know she's able to swallow but she has little movement on her left side and speech is still quite slurred. I really want to send something not related to the stroke, I know my son-in-law and his cousins will cover everything she needs in this repect.

I liked the idea of the hand cream so I'm thinking of sending a hand/body lotion set - a nice make like Molten Brown or Neal's Yard or similar.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

If she has someone to massage hands I think hand cream is a good idea.
Body lotion less so (from my and my mother-in-law's experience).
Maybe a few "melt in the mouth" chocolates or the sort of sweets you can suck won't go amiss. She can always offer one or two to visitors.
My mother-in-law was in hospital for weeks and liked to have something to offer.

The pop-up cards are a good idea too as they don't fall over as easily as others.
Of course there is almost no space in hospital and it's impossible to organise anything much with one hand.
I bought my mother-in-law a hard-backed notebook with a page marker. She used that a lot with the sort of pen with a "push to retract" nib.
You can get some pretty ones now that would make it a very acceptable gift.

I asked my husband what was his most useful gift after his stroke. He said the velour throw was great because it was winter and was lovely to drape over his knees in hospital and an extra layer on the bed. It was also very soft to the touch and light to move with just one working hand.

I will add that it washes beautifully and dries quickly.

I suggest no food or chocs at this stage. There can be limitations on what patients can eat after a stroke in case of choking etc.

I think a lovely smelling hand lotion or even a lovely bubble bath or shower gel if she can manage those would be nice

Speaking as a retired Nurse I would suggest lovely toiletries. Shower gels, creams, body sprays etc. Feeling lovely after a shower always cheer folks up

A pretty washable throw might be nice.

Lush Pink Peppermint foot lotion is lovely. Someone could massage her feet.

A pretty bedjacket?

A recent thread was quite positive, many people like bedjackets.

www.gransnet.com/forums/chat/1351536-will-bedjackets-make-a-return

When my Mother had a stroke and was in hospital for a couple of months she loved me or my sister rubbing in a nice body lotion and hand lotion as the skin gets extremely dry in hospital also she would probably appreciate a good pack of wet wipes and they do a hair washing cap that washes your hair in 3 minutes if you are bed bound or chair bound that requires no rinsing. They are available through ‘fresh wipes.co.uk’ they have a 20% discount code at the moment as well. Their wipes are a bigger size than normal and lovely and strong. I was in hospital in June and my daughter in law bought some in for me. My Mum had a big stroke and was paralysed all down one side she favoured practical presents with a touch of luxury to feel fresh.

speaking as a stroke survivor one of the best gifts I had was my daughter -in- laws mum a new pair of pjs. also I wanted to feel 'normal' so enjoyed it when my daughter brought in moisturiser and hand cream

Neal’s Yard recommended rose scented products when I needed a gift for someone in a similar situation. Calming and soothing apparently. NY products are made with proper aromatherapy oils which might be an added benefit. Linen/pillow sprays might be good too. Care settings don’t always smell great to they?

Before you send flowers make sure that she does not have any allergies. I have and many flowers , perfumed hand creams, shampoos etc give me runny eyes and nose or chest pains.