Need care package ideas for ill teenager

[gillenkl]

my 14 year old nephew was recently diagnosed with cancer and he'll be hospitalized for awhile for chemo and radiation treatments. I want to send some small care packages - maybe 1 a week. I have no idea what teenagers like and it has to budget friendly. I'd like to send one small suprise package a week to keep his spirits up and let him know we're thinking about him. Any ideas are welcome.

 

[RobinFabulous]

Hard Candy, Magazines?!, trading cards? (pokemon, etc?) maybe some small handheld games, or card games (uno, crazy 8's) fun pens/notepads, travel sized games, crossword puzzles, short books, just to name a few

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

comfy pajamas, robe, slippers
a microbead pillow
if he has a ds or psp you could get him a game for that

 

[lisaross]

How about a photo alblum w/photos of family/friends...

travel size board games....

prayers,

lisa

 

[cousinbb]

CD's, DVD's , BOOKS!!!!! adventures, biographies, nonfiction, mysteries!

I don't know much about diet restrictions with someone going through chemo but how about baked goods? Send a friend or two over to watch a movie with him or play a game with him.

 

[Momma2dakidz]

net flix subscription so he can dl movies onto his laptop.

Itunes gift card, if he doesnt have an ipod then maybe you can all pull togteher to buy him one.

Please dont forget mom and dad, they sure could use a homecooked meal once in a while.

Pj's to wear instead of hospital clothes. (kmart has bogo)

ANY kind of favorite food, he wont be restricted on food but his belly may not want any food. It could go either way each day is different.

Daily emails would be wonderfull. find simple cool cards and mail them too.

card games.... uno, lcr, skipbo, deck of cards

Soduku puzzles, mechanical pencils for those puzzles.

300 piece puzzles.(they fit on a tray table) piece of foam board to use to put the puzzle together on and that way he can move it about.

Fleece blanket that you made especially for him. (mom could use one too while she sits on that recliner next to the window and freezes)

Big tote bag to hold all of teh goodies needed to make an extended stay.

Personal items to keep in one bag just for the hospital. (dont forget mom!)

To save on shipping you can ship one bigger box and divide that into weeks. week one,,,,,,,only open BLUE presents......week two only open red presents.....anticipation might kill him though. or you can do a gift a day.....doesnt have to be expensive.

Good luck and i will keep him in my thoughts,,,,,,,, CANCER SUCKS!

 

[mom2travel]

comic books (my DS13 likes the Japanese ones)
deck of cards
poker chips
sports magazines (or whatever he is into)
notebook/pad for drawing/writing
rubik's cube
candy/snack bars (per friends of ours, if he's taking steroids, salty/crunchy is good)
crossword/wordsearch/sudoku puzzles
itunes gift cards (if he has an ipod - our friends had wireless in the hospital so you might want to check first that he does too so you know if he can use while there)
yo-yo
themed legos (star wars, indiana jones)
paper airplane kit

You are wonderful to do this. I'm sure he will appreciate that you are thinking of him. My prayers are with him

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

I'm so sorry to hear about your nephew. My nephew was diagnosed with ALL leukemia when he was eight years old. He went through a year of chemo at M.D. Anderson, then took oral chemo for the next couple of years after he came home. He is now a healthy, typical 17 year old boy, full of spunk and life. The treatment was tough on him at the time but now you'd never know he'd been sick. His grades are good and the worst lingering thing of him being sick is he is probably more spoiled than normal. I know he's always been my favorite and I love to spoil him! So many of the bad memories of his treatment and the other sick children he met are mostly forgotten now, for both him and his family. Thank God.

He'll want to have a ds or psp to keep him busy, and games for that would be great. I'm sure he'd enjoy caps with his favorite team logs, do rags, etc for when he loses his hair from the chemo. He might like magazines like Car and Truck and ESPN, and music for his ipod or mp3 player would be great too. An autograph book for all the celebrities he will meet while he's sick, and a digital or disposal camera would be useful too. (My nephew met tons of professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey players while he was sick, and had fantastic tickets for sporting events. Professional athletes are very generous with their love and support of children with cancer). Gift cards for Old Navy, Aeropostle, Abercrombie and Fitch so he can do some online shopping from his hospital bed would be fun for him. Paint by number sets, craft kits, or model car kits might ease his boredom.

I'm sure whatever you send him will make him happy. I wish him a rapid recovery from his illness. Hopefully he won't be nearly as sick as what you are thinking. I know in three years my nephew was only hopitalized for two weeks the entire time. Childhood cancers have came a long way in the past few years, and are much easier to treat. I hope everything works out for all of you!

 

[Nie0214]

One of my dearest friends was going through chemo for the last 3 months (he was diagnosed in August and only recently stopped treatment). He is 23 so it's a different age range, but I will say that he had a very hard time eating ANYTHING during his chemo (he would do Chemo one week, off for 3 weeks, etc.). He would feel nauseous and weak and just the smell of food would make him ill.

I do not know if it is common to feel that way, but just FYI in case you are thinking of sending any snacks.

 

[virginiamama]

Chapstick - I understand dry lips is a side effect. A friend of mine was having dry lips/skin and red cheeks and nose. I sent her fragrance free lip balm, hand lotion, and Physicians Formula redness corrector concealer. Also, maybe an iTunes gift card. I also like the idea of a snuggly blanket.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

One of my dearest friends was going through chemo for the last 3 months (he was diagnosed in August and only recently stopped treatment). He is 23 so it's a different age range, but I will say that he had a very hard time eating ANYTHING during his chemo (he would do Chemo one week, off for 3 weeks, etc.). He would feel nauseous and weak and just the smell of food would make him ill.

I do not know if it is common to feel that way, but just FYI in case you are thinking of sending any snacks.

I agree, I would avoid snacks, sometimes with steroids they get very specific cravings, but on the other hand if they're nauseous just the smell can be miserable. Plus if his white blood cell count gets low he may be put on a neutropeanic diet so it's just hard to tell what would be good.

A couple more things:
hand sanitizer and chapstick
sketchpad and pencils and/or a journal
if he's going to be inpatient for awhile posters to decorate his room

 

[hrslvr142]

Prayers for your nephew and hugs to you. Having just gone through deployment #2 with ds the one thing I will add is you can ship anything you can fit in the priority boxes from the post office (ask which ones-there are 3 sizes) for the same price no matter how much they weigh. They are right around $10, my top one was 23 lbs. If you are sending CDs and DVDs you may be able to send those cheaper but anything with any weight-these boxes are the best way to go.

 

[Chickysmom]

http://www.caringbridge.org/

He and his family could register here and keep all his friends and family posted on how things are going. They can also send messages to him! There's a spot to post photos too...it's a great site!

 

[starann]

ANY kind of favorite food, he wont be restricted on food but his belly may not want any food. It could go either way each day is different.

He may be restricted from fresh fruits and veggies (frozen or canned are ok, and select fresh fruits that have a thick outer layer...oranges, watermelon and so on) due to his immuo compromised state. Also no fresh plants or flowers!


All the other ideas are good too!

 

[monkey68]

How about a portable dvd player and some favorite movies? My friend was in the hospital for a month after a bad accident, and her room had a TV, but no DVD hookup, so she loved having a portable DVD player. They're not cheap, but maybe you could get a bunch of people to chip in a small amount for it? And then send him DVD's each week?

I would also throw in some baseball caps if he loses his hair, you could get some normal ones with his favorite sports teams, but you could also find some fun ones too.

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

I am sorry to hear abour your nephew. Prayers for him and the family.

 

[dakcp2001]

Maybe some books on tape or cd? He might not feel well enough to read them, but maybe he can listen to them instead?

 

[MSSANDRA]

Most of my ideas have been suggested. One additional idea is dollars for the snack or drink machine at the hospital. We have had several friends children go though this and they all loved walking to the snack machine when they were feeling well and picking their own snacks.

I really like the hat idea as well as sleep pants and shirts.

I agree to not forget the parents. It is just as tough for them.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I would suggest trying to get in touch with the hospitals Child Life Specialist. These individuals work with and support children and their families through out their hospitalization. Sometimes simple things like pinwheels help to encourage children and teens who are required to stay in bed for extended periods of time. They do this instead of the inspirex (sp?) You may also want to find him a marshmallow shooter which does the same thing...It's also a lot of fun to shoot marshmallows at your nurse!!! For teens a journal might help to allow your nephew the opportunity to vent his frustrations and fears that he might not feel comfortable expressing to others.

Someone suggested www.caringbridge.org This is a wonderful communication tool for families. It helps to let everyone know what is going on with out having to make a bunch of phone calls are rehash news. It is also a great way for family members to express their feelings as well.

Is your nephew a jokester? You could see if you could find a book for medical/hospital humor might be fun too. (I'm not sure if they make these)

Information sometimes helps too. One website I would suggest is here:http://www.cart32hostingred.com/cgi-bin/cart32.exe/CANDLELIGHTERSCHILDH-store
They have a section on hero beads. Again, check with the child life specialist or your family and see if they have a program called bravery beads. If not, this is a great idea to commemorate the journey that your nephew is taking. Each bead means something (radiation, chemo, blood, etc) Your nephew's mom or dad could keep tabs on what he is having and each week you could send him beads that coordinate with his treatments. PM me if you have any questions on this...It's hard to really give you the whole idea in just this post.

Also, does your nephew do well with needle pokes. Sometimes this is the most painful and difficult thing for kids and teens to go through. Things like stress balls help get them through the needle poke or painful procedures.

Fun stuff like rubix cubes, slinkies, koosh balls, glitter water filled bouncy balls,silly things that you would probably find near check outs.

Also, one last thought... www.finditgames.com These are great tubes that are filled with little plastic pieces and small objects to find, a penny the letter A they are really a lot of fun!

If I think of anything else I will pass it along. If you have any questions about the bead suggestion PM me and I will give you more information.

Someone else posted this-but I have to say it again....CANCER SUCKS!!!

 

[banderboo]

The only thing I haven't seen mentioned that I would liked when I was getting chemo is the flavored water packets, preferably the ones with protein (special K, south beach, etc) Plain water was hard to tolerate.