Offering a friend some support
When one of your friends is ill or involved in an accident, recovery can be a long and often depressing road. Whether it takes weeks or months for them to get back on their feet, they need all the support they can get.
While in the hospital, you can help make their room a bit more friendly by adding colour with fresh flowers and bright balloons. Remember, if they are in certain wards, like ICU, they might not be allowed to receive flowers or gifts. So, before placing your gift or flower order, make sure that you check with the hospital first.
Once they arrive home, you also want to make sure that their home environment is a positive one. Again, fresh flowers, balloons, and even a gift hamper can help you do just that. If they have any diet restrictions, it’s important to keep this in mind when it comes to food or beverage gifts. For example, if they are taking medication, they might not be allowed to consume alcohol or certain foods. Take a moment to find out or even ask their doctor if you can.
Another good thing to remember is to visit regularly but also give them space to rest and recover. Resting is a huge part of any recovery. The body needs more sleep and relaxation so that it can focus all of its energy on repairing damaged cells. Long visits or visiting too often can be exhausting and it can also drag out their recovery time. So, although you mean well, you should also try to give them time to heal.
What you can do while you visit is lend a hand. Even if they do have a spouse or relative taking care of things, you can still lend a hand by doing some dishes or cleaning the floors. Maybe tidy up their room a little bit while you chat. This way your visits serve an additional purpose. Be sure to ask your friend before going through their personal belongings. They might be too tired to tell you where everything needs to be packed away.
Fresh flowers usually last for a couple of weeks at least. So, when you visit every few days, you can change the vase water, remove any dying flowers and eventually replace the bouquet when necessary. Make sure that your friend also has something to keep them busy like a good book or a stack of their favourite movies or TV shows.