Making Sick Days Better

Not sure your title matched the content I was looking for...Here is how we make our bad days better:


As a mother of a cancer kid, I can say that we have our ups and downs literally with counts being great and then steadily plummeting into the toilet. On days where we cannot go outside either due to counts, weather or other unforeseen barriers; like hospitalization.

I have come up with a list of things to do here are a few...adding to your list:

Blow Bubbles periodically (yes, inside it is just soap if your concerned about floors put your child in the bath tub).

Pull out all the blooper photos that you have not sorted out of you magnificent shots and let them have a glue stick, cutters, and some low cost scrapbooking pages, if it's going to be a long-term illness splurge on a scrapbooking kit from a discount store; kids have a way of finding and making beauty out of pictures you find impossible to look.

Purchase Peel and Stick stickers - the foam ones are great for youngers because thier little fingers can peel them better. Printer Paper, or even Recycles for the youngest ones will be sufficient.

Get videos from your local library, some will even pull some off the shelf for you and have them waiting, or even courier them to your home.

Buy discount valentine cards and stationery, or use scraps of paper to write love letters back and forth; you work on your laptop and act as mail man dropping and picking up letters every 20 minutes or so.

Bring in the big wheel and let them use it through the house; we used this as a rehab activity when our daughter (2 1/2) stopped walking.

Let them roller skate in the kitchen...ours goes in a circle so it was perfect.

Let siblings entertain.

Have the class or a few classmates stop by, they can either come in or if low counts wave and hold up signs outside the window.

Board Games; our favorite is Blokus even my now three year old can play after many days of practice.

For the meeting you can't miss:

Give your child the phone; If you have a conference call that you just cannot miss, use your land line, and give your child your mobile. Let them dial grandma, an aunt, sister or good friend who is not working. Allot enough time that you will be able to complete your segment of the meeting and allow your child the luxury of a verbal baby sitter....reading books back and forth with someone who hasn't heard them read lately is really exciting!


For Sitters:

I have a friend who has a sitter come several days a week, they have a well planned out chart on her refrigerator for tracking meds, moods, funny events, etc...a digital camera would be a nice addition!


For Support:

For a long term illness get help!!! www.lotsahelpinghands.org, so worth while! Family, Friends and Community can help plan meals, laundry and other helpful tasks while you take care of your families immediate needs. It is a fantastic system, particularly for those who live in a suburban, or metro area! You just open your computer to see what's for dinner...I wish I had found this when Abby was first diagnosed!

Prayers to you and yours,
K.

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Thanks for this great info. Definitely helps to have these things prepared ahead of time when you have to take a sick day!

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I try to do the things you already mentioned, but I also throw a cozy sheet over the sofa like a slipcover which serves two purposes: protection (easy cleanup if they "miss" the bowl), and my child feeling like they're getting a special, cozy bed made. Before other family gets home, I wipe the doorknobs, cabinet doors, sink and toilet handles with disinfectant wipes. Not so much a fun tip, but it definitely helps!

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My daughter just recovered from strep earlier this week. What made her two and a half days at home better was a little TLC in the form of juice pops. I save the fluid from packed-in-juice canned fruit and pour it into ice pop molds. This soothed her throat and felt like a treat at 10 in the morning. I also allow more TV time than normal, knowing that my first grader will often nap when she is lying still watching a show. If she is up playing quietly, she is far less likely to nap. So, we relax the usual standards a bit when our girls are ill.

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