HOW to give??

There are a million ways to give. For us as a family who deals with so many medical issues... I cannot tell you the number of times that people have asked us... what can we do? When you are in the middle of such stress like your child being in the hospital or having surgery etc... you cannot think straight. Its hard to ask for help when you feel like there is nothing that can help... other than the docs and nurses.

I wanted to share a short list of things that you can do for families who are dealing with medical issues... be it their child, mother, sister, etc...

• Bring a meal to the hospital.
• Cook a freezer meal for when they go home.
• Stock their freezer / fridge with items so that they don't have to go to the store once they get home.
• Offer to run errands... just going to the grocery or pharmacy is a huge help when you can't leave your ill loved one.
• Steal them away for a pedicure or massage. The one thing that kept me going through the heart surgery month was when my best friend drove 6 hours to drag me to a hotel to sleep... go to dinner and go home to do laundry.
• Offer to pick up their mail and bring it to them at the hospital. I cannot tell you how many late fees we have paid on bills simply because we were not home to GET the bill!!!
• If you are not a cook or even if you are... give a gift card to a restaurant in the area of the hospital. Just knowing that you have that card to spend whenever you need coffee or a burger without worrying about finding an ATM or what you bank account balance is... is HUGE!
• Clean the house, the fridge, etc.
• MOW the grass or take in / out the garbage. If you see a friend's lawn overgrowing... just mow it... don't ask... just do it! We were moved to TEARS when we came home to a perfectly manicured lawn that our church friends had taken care of for us.
• Bring a new toy to the child, magazines to the parents... the hospital hours run together... night turns into day and even a short stay can seem like YEARS!
• Leave a note on their caringbridge, blog, website or even a simple text message just to say you are thinking of them.
• Call them to remind them of a sale or something "normal"... from home like that its Thursday and don't forget that Grey's Anatomy is on.
• Offer to take their car to gas it up... nothing stinks more than only having an hour to get home to shower and get back and hopping in a car with NO GAS...
• Give a GAS gift card if they are far away.
• The perfect gift to give any hospital family is a plug in for the wall like Bath & Body Works Wallflowers... that way their room doesn't smell so "hospitaly"... or a nice lightly scented air freshener spray... Febreeze ones are great! The bathroom doors always open straight into the rooms and it stinks to have to "go" and then stink up the entire room! LOL
• Crochet or knit a special hat, booties, or blanket for the child. Use good soft yarns because we usually don't wash them at the hospital... but its nice to have a little something special to keep your child warm.

These are all small things that make a huge difference in the lives of those who you give to!