Gift ideas for someone who is having a knee replaced
October 7, 2014 12:17 PM Subscribe
Posting for a friend: My mom's birthday is October 31 and she's getting her knee replaced on November 7.
I suggested to my sister that we go in on a birthday gift (less than $100) that would be useful to her during her recovery, but we cannot think of anything. The only major parameters: We both live out of state, so we can't do things like run errands for her. More importantly, she has some brain damage. She can't hold her attention long enough to read a magazine or book, and has trouble with electronic devices so a gift card for smartphone apps won't work. She also has a pretty bad hand tremor.
She doesn't have any hobbies or interests really, but does have a fascination with older mental institutions/state hospitals/asylums from the 40s/50s/60s. And was a nurse back before the brain damage and so she loves medical shows and all kinds of morbid stuff. And has a fascination with the Duggars.
So: have any of you who have been laid up for a while or who have dealt with someone who has been laid up for a while, particularly with knee injuries, found anything to be particularly useful? Any clothing items or pillows or strange ice pack or heating contraptions that make recovery more comfortable? A lap table? Is there one that works for both a bed and a La-Z-Boy? Do any of you have the same morbid interests as her, and can you recommend non-book gifts? My parents have an Apple TV, so if there's a documentary series of some kind that we could download that would be sweet. DVD sets would be nice, but my dad would have to change them out and that's one more job he won't need during all of this.
I suggested to my sister that we go in on a birthday gift (less than $100) that would be useful to her during her recovery, but we cannot think of anything. The only major parameters: We both live out of state, so we can't do things like run errands for her. More importantly, she has some brain damage. She can't hold her attention long enough to read a magazine or book, and has trouble with electronic devices so a gift card for smartphone apps won't work. She also has a pretty bad hand tremor.
She doesn't have any hobbies or interests really, but does have a fascination with older mental institutions/state hospitals/asylums from the 40s/50s/60s. And was a nurse back before the brain damage and so she loves medical shows and all kinds of morbid stuff. And has a fascination with the Duggars.
So: have any of you who have been laid up for a while or who have dealt with someone who has been laid up for a while, particularly with knee injuries, found anything to be particularly useful? Any clothing items or pillows or strange ice pack or heating contraptions that make recovery more comfortable? A lap table? Is there one that works for both a bed and a La-Z-Boy? Do any of you have the same morbid interests as her, and can you recommend non-book gifts? My parents have an Apple TV, so if there's a documentary series of some kind that we could download that would be sweet. DVD sets would be nice, but my dad would have to change them out and that's one more job he won't need during all of this.
If she doesn't have this book already, get it for her. It's fantastic. Note that it's a big coffee table book (pictures) so the attention problem should be OK.
http://www.amazon.com/Asylum-Inside-Closed-Mental-Hospitals/dp/0262013495/
Review: "[this book] contains sadly beautiful photographs by Christopher Payne and a masterful essay by Oliver Sacks that reminds us that state hospitals were not always places of neglect and abuse but also of true asylum--of refuge from the stresses of life. The book presents us with a world of abandoned buildings, forgotten ashes, and derailed futures. It packs a powerful punch."
posted by intermod at 12:39 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
http://www.amazon.com/Asylum-Inside-Closed-Mental-Hospitals/dp/0262013495/
Review: "[this book] contains sadly beautiful photographs by Christopher Payne and a masterful essay by Oliver Sacks that reminds us that state hospitals were not always places of neglect and abuse but also of true asylum--of refuge from the stresses of life. The book presents us with a world of abandoned buildings, forgotten ashes, and derailed futures. It packs a powerful punch."
posted by intermod at 12:39 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Grip and grab, maybe a not too hard puzzle.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 12:39 PM on October 7, 2014
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 12:39 PM on October 7, 2014
See if you can rent an automatically circulating ice cuff. When I had knee surgery, I was provided with a manual ice bucket and cuff, but I was lent an automated machine, and believe me, they are AWESOME!
posted by Seeking Direction at 12:45 PM on October 7, 2014
posted by Seeking Direction at 12:45 PM on October 7, 2014
Would she like to have a jigsaw puzzle to work on every now and then? She could put it on the dining room table or a card table and just work on it when she felt like it.
The Grip and Grab suggestion above is pure gold! Everybody drops things.
posted by Cranberry at 12:49 PM on October 7, 2014
The Grip and Grab suggestion above is pure gold! Everybody drops things.
posted by Cranberry at 12:49 PM on October 7, 2014
For morbid gifts, my go-to is the Mutter Museum shop. Options include soap lady soap, mysterious perfumes, stuffed toys of organs and microbes, and a selection of glossy museum books. There are a couple of more practical recovery suggestions in this older thread that might be helpful too. It sounds like she might really enjoy the newish series Call the Midwife from the BBC; I think you can purchase the seasons and download them. Seconding the delivery food options, especially if it's something like a diner where there are many options and almost guaranteed easy-to-heat leftovers.
posted by jetlagaddict at 12:51 PM on October 7, 2014
posted by jetlagaddict at 12:51 PM on October 7, 2014
Some asylum-related documentaries:
Titicut Follies, Kings Park, Guilty Except for Insanity, Library of Dust, Children of Darkness.
She might also be interested in the Frontline program The New Asylums, which looks at prisons' role as defacto asylums in the United States.
We're currently helping an elderly relative who has had a knee replacement - I don't know if it's an issue for your folks, but we paid to have a cleaner come in and organize his house to get things off of the floor that he might trip over, to tape down power cords, etc. We found someone through a local eldercare non-profit that knew what to look for. It's less of an issue considering she's not living alone, obviously, but might save your dad the time and trouble.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:03 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Titicut Follies, Kings Park, Guilty Except for Insanity, Library of Dust, Children of Darkness.
She might also be interested in the Frontline program The New Asylums, which looks at prisons' role as defacto asylums in the United States.
We're currently helping an elderly relative who has had a knee replacement - I don't know if it's an issue for your folks, but we paid to have a cleaner come in and organize his house to get things off of the floor that he might trip over, to tape down power cords, etc. We found someone through a local eldercare non-profit that knew what to look for. It's less of an issue considering she's not living alone, obviously, but might save your dad the time and trouble.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:03 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
All the prior seasons of 19 Kids and Counting are on Netflix, so perhaps setting up Netflix on their Apple TV (or walking Dad through it) and gifting a few months of subscription? I know when I'm sick and feeling foggy, I love re-watching old favorite TV shows because I don't need to pay full attention and it doesn't matter if I fall asleep in the middle. I'm not sure if her attraction to the Duggars is that they're conservative or that the show features a super weird family doing totally mundane things. The latter is the source of my obsession with 19 Kids and Counting, and similar shows that ding that bell are Sister Wives and My Five Wives. (Both of these are about polygamists, though, so if she's interested in the Duggars because she's a conservative Christian, she probably won't be such a fan.) Sister Wives is also on Netflix, as are other TLC shows in this vein.
posted by rainbowbrite at 1:07 PM on October 7, 2014
posted by rainbowbrite at 1:07 PM on October 7, 2014
Is she able to get out and about? The best thing for replacement surgery is building up muscle prior to surgery. Is there a nearby class with an appropriate activity level? (Sit-fit, senior yoga, swimming. )
posted by Lesser Shrew at 1:26 PM on October 7, 2014
posted by Lesser Shrew at 1:26 PM on October 7, 2014
How about a crocheted model of knee anatomy?
Or felt brooch?
posted by moonmilk at 4:22 PM on October 7, 2014
Or felt brooch?
posted by moonmilk at 4:22 PM on October 7, 2014
Elevated toilet seat.
The Grip and Grab is a great idea.
posted by dreaming in stereo at 6:32 PM on October 7, 2014
The Grip and Grab is a great idea.
posted by dreaming in stereo at 6:32 PM on October 7, 2014
This is sort of involved, but it's the thought that counts, so "involved" is better, right? Get in touch with the hospital where she's having the surgery and/or the facility where she's doing rehab, if applicable, and talk to the occupational therapist about what kind of equipment they recommend for a knee replacement patient of her age and mobility. If there's something she might need that they won't be giving to her as part of the OT routine, there's your answer. (Otherwise, a grip and grab or a dressing stick or a shower chair are always useful for people with reduced mobility.)
posted by gingerest at 10:57 PM on October 7, 2014
posted by gingerest at 10:57 PM on October 7, 2014
Does she live alone? I'd say pay for food delivery and/or housecleaning.
posted by Neekee at 1:44 PM on October 8, 2014
posted by Neekee at 1:44 PM on October 8, 2014
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posted by DarlingBri at 12:23 PM on October 7, 2014