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Raising the mood of hospitalised nan

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  • I'm with margaretclare - my first thought was some really lovely-smelling cologne - nothing too perfumey but something fresh and feminine that she could really slosh around. Some scented wipes for hands/face - not medically ones but nice lemon, rose or cologne. Some lavender-scented temple balm to help her sleep.
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  • polki
    polki Posts: 548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
    When my elderly mother was in hospital I loaned her my sony walkman and tapes from her favourite radio show - "I'm sorry I haven't a clue". It was a great success.
  • I second the audio books.

    Often in hospital concentration isn't great for reading, but an audio book is great to drift away from the surroundings.

    My husband's granny had talking books for the last 10 years of her life, and she said it was what got her through her days.

    You can get big buttoned recorders
    This is a good one, similar to the one she had, and has a little handle
    http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/555428/FERGUSON-FTR100

    If she struggles with sight

    You could get dots to go on the buttons. One on the play and two on stop?
    http://onlineshop.rnib.org.uk/display_item.asp?n=11&c=0&sc=0&id=1039&it=1&l=3

    There are loads of reasonably priced audio books, ebay is good also http://www.listen2online.co.uk/l2echannel/static/index.cfm
  • Errata
    Errata Posts: 38,230 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Lots of good ideas. My suggestion (as an older person) would be that what I miss most during a spell in hospital is having a conversation with someone. Nurses and other workers don't have time, I don't want to listen to the woman in the next bed banging on about all her operations/illnesses/I'm sicker than you are rubbish.
    So - what I value most is lots of visitors telling me what they've been up to, how rubbish their football team is, what the kids did that made them laugh. Lots of ladies comics especially the ones I wouldn't normally buy, and lots and lots of flowers.
    .................:)....I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on ...:)
  • view
    view Posts: 2,242 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    What about using a personal laptop DVD player (borrowing one if you don't have one?) and getting hold of some old movies - the fun ones with Doris Day etc.. might make her smile and 'escape' for a while x
  • Do let us know how she's getting on or if any ideas have worked :) we're all worrying about her now!
  • MrsManda
    MrsManda Posts: 4,457 Forumite
    If she's up to it, ask if she can go 'on leave' for a few hours and take her to a local restuarant/pub for a meal and a change of scenery.
    Often being in hospital for a long time, you kinda forget what it's like to feel well so anything that makes her remember home will be helpful. Is there anything she likes doing when she's feeling well? One person I knew had been in hospital for a very long time and had almost given up. She'd fallen a lot so even though she was getting physically better she was too scared to walk and it was stopping her from improving. She used to really like ballroom dancing so I used to try to dance and get her to tell me where I was going wrong. It was just a way of reminding her of something she needed to get well again so she could do it.
    Are there any special occassions coming up or things she's always wanted to do that'll give her something to focus on?
  • When my dad was in hospital, i took him a personal DVD player and some dvds for him to watch. They tend to last a couple of hours on the battery and can always be plugged in whilst theyre being watched. We took lots of comedies to keep his spirits up.

    We also took in books, playing cards and sandwiches at lunchtime which were a nice change from the boring hosiptal food
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