All right moms - I am in need of some ideas ! I know you always have great ones ! Short background - my dad had emergency brain surgery almost 2 weeks ago. He was released a week ago for rehab, had a stroke, back in the hospital, had another stroke and mutliple seizures. He is just about ready for rehab again. In order to get him in where we want him this time (different from before) he needs to stay awake and engaged during the day. He is bored and depressed and therefore has a hard time staying up and awake. He likes to read but it's a little bit hard right now to concentrate on the words and lines. I have thought about audio books. Does anyone have any other suggestions to keep him going ? He does watch tv in his room. He hasn't been too big into puzzles but I'm going to suggest that. Thanks moms !
Edit: Sorry - I guess I didn't put this in there - he is still in the hospital for another couple of days. He will go straight from the hospital to rehab. The rehab we wants to get into wants him alert and awake during the day. Physical therapy is coming in a little bit each day right now to work with him and get stuff started.
Thanks for all the ideas ! We ended up not needing them at this point since the insurance company told the hospital he needed to be moved out last Tuesday. Two days before the rehab had a bed ! We did ALOT of scrambling but found a spot at another rehab and this seems to be going good at this point. He is staying busy with rehab. But I will keep in mind all your ideas if he starts needing something to do in his offtime.
What about a hand held game? There are tons of grown up games for a DS!
Also, would he like:
Word searches?
Listen to music on an ipod? podcasts on his favorite topics?
Drawing/paint by numbers?
Maybe a hand held video game? Those can keep you addicted for hours :)
Is he getting physical therapy?
If so, what do they suggest? They should have a print out of recommendations for you.
My late Dad had a stroke.
Also, doing puzzles, is a good thing. For the brain and fine motor skills.
Or crosswords.
Or word jumble books/games.
Also, gardening, if he can do that.
Also, if he is on medication, it can also make them drowsy.
So you need to ask the Doc, what meds he has and what are the side effects.
Get books, that are in BIG print. These would be found in any children's section of a bookstore. Easier to read that way.
Also, just take him out.... walking. If he can do that.
Getting outside, in the sun, helps a person. Lack of sunlight/vitamin D, can create depression in some people.
It is COMMON, for a person after a stroke, to have depression. Their whole life changes. It is not easy.
Or, have him join a support group for stroke patients.
Or, maybe he can get a Bonsai plant and learn about it? Bonsai, It is a real good activity.
physical therapy beats the depression blues and he is probably going to need it anyway. if no physical therapy small excercises he can do raise arms and legs and etc walking if he is capable of doing it. get him outside to sit in the sun and watch the cars drive by. watch the birds etc. the sun helps depression also. make him get out of bed and sit in a chair or something. brain surgery will probably require to retrain his body anyway so start early and get him ahead of the game but follow docs orders
Does anyone have a tablet or laptop? He could surf the internet, play games, listen to music, look at pictures, etc.
Wow, I'm sorry that your family has had to go through this, but I'm so glad that your dad seems to be doing well now. Does he like to play cards? Dominoes? Those are some games that could be played easily in a hospital room. The audio books sound like they could be a good idea, but make sure it's an exciting book, or that could lull him to sleep as well. Maybe try playing some upbeat music. Is there a tv series he particularly loves? You could get the dvds of an entire season for him to watch. Hope he continues to do well and is back at home soon :)
When my dad was recovering he loved surfing the internet. He got really interested in Genealogy, and putting together our family tree. He also would look up his medications online, and his conditions on the Mayo Clinic website.
If he's not into the internet, other things my dad did was watch his old movies, listen to music, play games on the computer, spend time with the little dogs (we had two of them).
Having the dogs really helped. It got my dad to get up and get outside in the fresh air and let them out to run and potty and have fun. I also got him out as much as possible. Dinner, movies, grocery shopping, babies r us, toys r us, the mall, walmart, target, Starbucks, etc. My dad was also depressed when he came home, which makes it really hard, but getting him out of the house helped.
I hope this helps. Good Luck!
Sudoku and crossword puzzles. Card games like solitare. Checkers, or Chinese checkers, chess, mad libs, rubicks cube, watercolor (he can use watercolor pencils which are easy and fun), paint by number, building model planes. Some of those books you can buy in much larger print.
He can learn a language with an audio program, learn some sort of craft or write in a journal.
Get him a handheld gaming device, or let him play games on a phone/laptop.
Tai chi, or what SH suggested, bonsai would be excellent.
some ideas here:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/532003/eight_thi...
My dad had poor eyesight and had cancer so spent many many years confined to hospital beds in isolation. These were some of the things he did.
Is he having a Speech Pathologist (Therapist) working with him? If not, I would ask the doctors if one might be appropriate. I am a Speech Therapist and work with patients after strokes and seizures. It will be really important in his recovery. They can work on alertness, reading, tracking his eyes, and other language/cognitive tasks. The reason I mention this is they can give you appropriate and meaningful tasks that will assist with the healing of his brain. You don't really want to give him things that are too difficult that may frustrate him on top of the depression. You also don't want to keep him occupied with meaningless activities. Games can be great if they are not too hard. Also, has the doctor treated the depression with some sort of medication. It is VERY common to have depression after a stroke but it still needs to be addressed so that it doesn't hinder the progress with therapies. I hope this helps. God bless you and your family. Sounds like he has a great daughter on his side and that will go a long way.
A.
*Is he still able to walk? If so, a short 10 min walk around the hospital room or hallway can help stimulate the brain and keep him active. He will then need a rest after that though. He may need a walker. Even in a wheelchair would do him wonders to get out of bed and look around at the environment other than this room. (If he's hooked up to stuff, they can put it on a rolling hook).
*crossword puzzles
*word sarches
*People magazine because it's short, lots of pictures and not much reading.
*Those puzzles for kids w/big wood pieces and only about 6 pieces total.
I would consider getting him a Kindle...he can read a book when he is able or in the mood, but many of the books can also be switched to "audio" mode where it is read to you. That way, if his eyes get tired, he could still engage in the story by having it read to him. I'd maybe even pick some positive, inspiring books that might help his mood!
