Leukemia | ExpatWoman.com
 

Leukemia

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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 14:58

My oldest daughter friend was diagonosed with Leukemia over Christmas. I want to send something to him and the family (have known his mother and grandmother my entire life). But I don't know what to send for a boy. Any suggestions?

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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 20:29
Hmm Excellent suggestions below - boys are tough! Is skype free where he is? Perhaps you could get him some skype credit if not so his family and friends can keep in contact while he is away. What about contacting the hospital and finding out what TV channels they have - we had a male friend in a hospice that did not have satelite TV, so contact was made with the supplier, and they actually provided the whole hospice with it for free, but you might just be able to organise a months subscription or something like that... Does he like animals? If he is a dog lover, there is probably a group nearby that could take a puppy/dog in for company a few hours a day - quite a few hospitals do this, as long as there is no infection risk. He is obviously into his football, can you organise an experience for him to do either during his treatment or at the end. You may even be able to write to his favourite player/team and get them to do something... Lovely of you to be thinking of things. I think you will find he will be truly touched that you even organised something for him. HTH edited by TanyaR on 02/01/2011 <em>edited by TanyaR on 02/01/2011</em>
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 20:07
how about a gift bag of small useful things - phone cards, a bag of coins for vending machines/tv, postage stamps for letters home (if he's up to writing any), small framed photo of his family, toiletries, crossword book and pen, small tube of hand cream (i believe chemo dries the skin).... sorry he's having to go through this :(
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 20:02
No worries at all bc. Just felt bad if my post was badly worded and I made you think I was trying to get you to explain yourself. How about some really cool new games for the xbox or what-have-you... assuming there are some he hasn't got. Does he have internet access at the hospital? My nephew is mad keen about 'points' that I buy him online at Amazon. I'm going to sound very ignorant but they're something to do with playing some online game on the xbox.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 19:29
bc sorry to hear of your friends bad news there is never a good time to get this kind of news but at Christmas which is supposed to be the time of merriment it always seems worse With regards to gifting very difficult as he will not be able to ocncentrate on anything for the first few weeks as he will be in total turmoil Maybe not a gift at this stage just a well thought out written card maybe ? xxx
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 19:20
Ty for the suggestions. Sorry M-King I didn't mean for my post to sound so harsh. Unfortunately due to the severity of the symptoms that appeared suddenly and the fact he lives in a tiny town that is not capable of handling cancer patients, he was airlifted to a childrens hospital over 400 miles away. So he will not get the benefit of his friends or family visiting him daily or at all. My daughter says he has the x-box, PS3 and a PSP. He has the ipod and his laptop is being taken to him by his grandmother.My daughter is also trying to get suggestions from his other friends. She doesn't want anything to seem more than a friendship gift since the boy has asked her out several times. The boy definately needs some serious distractions from it all. He has been told the very harsh reality that he will lose his football scholorship to his college of choice.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 18:42
So sorry to hear about this diagnosis, what a horrible christmas day for that family.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 18:39
Bornconfused, I wasn't in any way suggesting you needed to explain your reasons for wanting to do this. I was only trying to understand what it was you were trying to accomplish... The son of a colleague of DH when we lived in Syria was also diagnosed with Leukemia and the very best 'gift' he got was one of his classmates showing up at his house every day through all the testing and chemo. Each day he took either his xbox or a bunch of movies or whatever. Clearly you're not going to be doing that but like was already suggested, I think an xbox or something like that is a brilliant idea.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 18:09
Hey Borncofused I think it would be a lovely idea to send something to help distract him. In my 'old' life I worked with kids with cancer and a teenage boy would greatly benefit from distraction. He isn't going to be feeling too hot for the first bit and maybe longer depending on what type of Leukaemia his diagnosed with. Can you find out if he has an Ipod/MP3 player and maybe get him a gift certificate to download new stuff for it? Most hospitals these days have internet access for the kids and the last unit I worked on actually had laptops for the kids to share, so may not be that hard for him to be able to do when feeling well. Or see if he has a PSP, or whatever he may have, and get him some new games for it. If he is already a reader books/magazines would be good but if he isn't I don't imagine at the beginning he will be that interested as time goes on and he isn't feeling as awful from treatment these would be good distractions from time spent in hospital or even for frequent clinic visits. We had one teenage boy that was into guitar and was always loosing guitar pics and enjoyed working on new music when he was up to it. So, if he was into something like that a supply of pics and maybe see if you can find some new sheet music he is into. Hope that helps, it isn't easy but I think it is very thoughtful of you.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 16:02
A PSP or DS? Or an Ipod with some music on it or itunes cards Just thinking in terms of something that will help time pass for 3 months in hospital... Maybe a kindle or something of the likes if he enjoys reading... Do you know his hobbies?
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 16:01
At 17 he will need distracting so I would recommend a handheld Nintendo/PSP as they can get engrossed easily and it whiles away the time. If that is outside of the budget then puzzle books, pens and a deck of cards including instructions on how to play old fashioned solitaire. Men’s magazines (not playboy but acceptable girly mags) or magazines about a hobby/interest can be picked up from second hand book stores and combined with a couple of latest editions for a nice parcel. If he is the arty type a sketch book and some nice pencils in a box wouldn't go astray. HTH x
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 15:43
17
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 15:41
How old is he?
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 15:22
A portable DVD player - and lots of DVDs
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 15:20
Not that I really need to be specific as to why I feel the need to do this, but the boy and his mother have been extremely helpful with my daughters transition back to the US. They have gone above and beyond with things to help out my mother with her. So therefore, I do feel as if a little something could be sent to show a sign of support. And no the type of Leukemia has yet to be determined. He was just diagnosed with it on Christmas day. They are still running the various types of tests to see what is going on and how long it has been going on. He will be hospital bound for at least 3 months through Chemo and various other treatments.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 January 2011 - 15:14
Can you be a little more specific? What do you mean by wanting to send something? As in, a gift? Sorry but isn't that a little uncommon? I mean, to send someone a gift because they've been diagnosed with something like this. Not being judgmental. Just trying to figure out what it is you mean to do. How old is he? And do you have any idea what kind of Leukemia it is and what the prognosis is? Here's hoping he'll be okay.
 
 

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