Best gift for 56 yr old stroke survivor?
October 31, 2013 1:00 PM Subscribe
A very dear friend of mine (female, 56, was very physically active, runner, professor, etc.) had a stroke in late August.
She's in a rehab place, re-learning how to walk, and might be there for some time. Her speech isn't particularly affected, but she has limited use of 1 arm. She's been typing on a keyboard, albeit slowly. I'm not within driving distance.
What can I send her? What can I send her husband? They're in Austin, so specific suggestions would be great.
She's in a rehab place, re-learning how to walk, and might be there for some time. Her speech isn't particularly affected, but she has limited use of 1 arm. She's been typing on a keyboard, albeit slowly. I'm not within driving distance.
What can I send her? What can I send her husband? They're in Austin, so specific suggestions would be great.
Best answer: Was she an avid reader? I was. Until I suffered a mini-stroke myself. I went from reading an average of 2-3 books a month to taking months to finish one book. Had I discovered how wonderful audio books were, I would've been so much happier. My friends rallied around and gave me gift cards on Amazon so I could easily download books of my choice for my Kindle app on my iPad and iPhone. It lifted my spirits and made me so happy to still be able to enjoy books.
Update 3 years post-stroke: I still really enjoy audio books, but can now finish "real" books at a much faster rate, though still not at the same pace pre-stroke. I wish your friend well and tell her it gets better.
posted by HeyAllie at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2013 [4 favorites]
Update 3 years post-stroke: I still really enjoy audio books, but can now finish "real" books at a much faster rate, though still not at the same pace pre-stroke. I wish your friend well and tell her it gets better.
posted by HeyAllie at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2013 [4 favorites]
A friend of mine was in a bad bike accident and ended up with similar disabilities. A bunch of us chipped in and bought him an Ipad.
posted by bearwife at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by bearwife at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
Does she like to do stuff that involves a lot of typing or writing? If so and her speech is good, she might get on well with speech to text software like dragon naturally speaking. I'd discuss it with her first though, since I think it's quite an investment and she may want to try to get typing back better first.
posted by kadia_a at 2:11 PM on October 31, 2013
posted by kadia_a at 2:11 PM on October 31, 2013
I'd also suggest a tablet of some sort and a subscription to Luminosity.
That's what we did for our dad and it was well received, but I'd suggest you make sure with the spouse that it's an appropriate gift first and not something that would come across as condescending or assumptive.
posted by matty at 6:35 PM on October 31, 2013
That's what we did for our dad and it was well received, but I'd suggest you make sure with the spouse that it's an appropriate gift first and not something that would come across as condescending or assumptive.
posted by matty at 6:35 PM on October 31, 2013
I agree with the tablet suggestions. For her spouse, just sending a card or email would be nice. Caregiving is hard work, and the patient gets all the attention.
posted by MichelleinMD at 10:59 AM on November 1, 2013
posted by MichelleinMD at 10:59 AM on November 1, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phunniemee at 1:16 PM on October 31, 2013