What can be sent as a present to an 8 years old kid recovering in a hospital from serious cardiac surgery?

July 6, 2006 12:02 PM

This 8 years old kid came from Madrid, Spain to New York where he was treated for a serious cardiac problem at Mount Sinai. He had surgery and is recovering well. He will leave the ICU soon and a group of friends from Madrid wanted to send him some kind of present to cheer him up. I don't actually know the kid. But a friend of mine is part of said "group of friends" and they asked me to figure out what can be done. Hire a magician? send him a bunch of toys? books? a stripper? all of the above? I suppose the stripper would be a bad idea, what with blood pressure and all that. But I'm sure there are plenty of "special surprises" and original ideas for his age group and health condition. Oh, and he speaks both english and spanish, so language shouldn't be an issue.
posted by sd to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

He will need significant recovery time. Buy him a Nintendo handheld and a truckload of games to while away the time in bed rest.
posted by frogan at 12:12 PM on July 6, 2006

I don't know if they're available in Spanish, but I know that kids that age love the Madlibs.
Also to while away the bed ridden hours, why not pick upa skill?
posted by Sara Anne at 12:38 PM on July 6, 2006

Stripper + 8-year-old with a heart condition.... Wow, that's wrong on so many levels. I love it.

Basically, whatever diversions are available; hospitals aren't a lot of fun. Movies, books, Madlibs? I don't know how long he'll be in the hospital, but he might get homesick. Perhaps there are things unique to Madrid/Spain that would remind him of home?
posted by JMOZ at 1:05 PM on July 6, 2006

He's going to be there for a while and when he gets out, chances are he's going to be ordered off any sort of strenuous activity for a while.

Nintendo DS Lite all the way.
posted by wmeredith at 1:56 PM on July 6, 2006

Comic books
posted by Pressed Rat at 2:11 PM on July 6, 2006