Gift for a sick little boy

[lizanne]

Hi all,

Sadly one of my friends has a very sick little 3 year old boy, he has been admitted to hospital and will be there for 2 months initially and then on and off for treatments.

I would love to make something for him but I don't know what. Towels and such are out of the question as they will be supplied by the hospital. Does anyone have a suggestion??

Lizanne

[debmac]

What about a small quilt or blanket of some sort. I would make it closer to a throw size so he could use it more for a security blanket instead of a bed cover. You could make a rag quilt and have the different types of "feely" fabric if he likes that sort of thing. You could embroider the things that he likes (cars, bugs, etc.) on some of the squares. To make it extra soft you could use flannel for the middle instead of quilt batting. I don't know if you have made one of these before, but they are very quick. I made one for my grandson and he loves it.

[Jami Johnson]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend's son. My heart goes out to the little boy as well as his family. That's really tough, but how lucky they are to have a good friend like you.

I love the idea of the blanket/quilt. I think something like that could provide a lot of comfort and security for him right now. Also, I was thinking about a little car mat with some cars. I saw this over on Deena Rutter's blog (http://deenarutter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/06/showcase-sunday-riley-blake-wheels-fabric-car-mat.html) and it looks like a great idea for his situation.

Does he like to color? You could do a crayon roll with a coloring book. Here's an idea for the crayon roll (http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/). None of these things have embroidery on them, but they'd be easy to add embroidery to.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[StitchinGrandma]

OH that poor little guy, that's a long time to be away from home. :( I do hope he has a good prognosis. I know they are usuall supplied by the hospital and maybe for long term stays they are allowed some freedom to use their own pj's but how about some cute little boy hospital gowns?
Lazy Girl has free patterns on her blog for adult and children sized hospital gowns here (http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/hospitalgown.php). You might want to check with the hospital to see if they will allow those before making them but I'd assume they might allow for long term stays such as this for a child since they know how hard that is. You could use bright colors for them or some made with some of the cartoon type fabrics for one he might watch/like. Those would brighten him up each day a little more.

Otherwise, I agree with Jami about crayon rolls. That's a very good bed type activity that would help rest his eyes from the video games he will possibly have to play. ;) You could put together a little tote bag and fill it with the crayon rolls, color books, depending on the age, word search books or connect the dot books (am I aging myself here? They DO still make those right? :D ) and other goodies the hospital allows.

[katiedoodles]

Lizanne,

I have made pillowcases for children that are in the hospital for long periods of time, it was part of a group trying to collect a million pillowcases for sick children. They have a website that offers free patterns and ideas. PM me if you would like me to send you the website.

I certainly hope that your friends son has a speedy recovery and that his hospital stay is shorter than 2 months!

[Stitchn-Jeans]

I am very sad to hear when children are very sick. With Gods help he will get better. Giving him some pillowcases with his favorite colors and some cartoon charactors could help him be happy.

[NJMo]

Goofy hats were always a conversation starter when I worked in the hospital. The sillier, the better! Make them of fleece or flannel and super floppy so if he has a headache or has treatment involving his head, it won't hurt.

[katiedoodles]

Lizanne,

I was just wondering how your friend's little boy is doing (much better, I hope!)? Did you ever decide on what you wanted to make for him?

[lizanne]

Thanks Katie,

We won't know how he is doing for some time yet. Its Leukaemia and the first round of treatment will take about two months so we will have a better idea after that finishes. His kind of Leukaemia is known to respond well to treatment in a lot of cases so we are all praying that he will be one of the lucky ones and that he will be well again.

His parents are out of their minds, understandably and need all the love and support they can get. They have had to leave their home and jobs and go to a major city for the treatment so it is very difficult emotionally and financially. They are afraid they will lose their home.

My son-in-law was telling me that he took an extra that was offered with his income protection insurance that will pay out $100,000 if his child was in that position. He said that it is a relief to him to know that if it happened to them, they would not have to worry about finances, but could focus on their child's recovery.

Even though our friends don't have insurance like that they are comforted to know that their child is getting the best treatment available. In Austalia we have a nationalised health system (every wage earner pays 1.5% of their taxable income towards our health care system), so they will not have medical bills to worry about at least.

I have made a few things so far, T-Shirts, pajamas and a blankie. I saw a cute play mat for toy cars that could be stitched in the hoop and had pockets to store the little cars in. But I can't remember where I saw it so I might stitch up something similar on the sewing machine.

[bluteddi]

My 2-5 y/o grandaughters LOVE their busy books..... also called quiet books.

U can buy patterns or there are lots of free ideas on line.. I have also used coloring books for patterns..

examples of pages are:
a bird on a nest ( bird removes from nest to show eggs )
clothes on a line to dry and a basket to put them in
a dog with soft fur to pet
a cat with a collar to buckle or snap
apple tree with apples with # on them to count
corn on the cob that the " husks" unzip complete with silk
giant flowers that " buttoned on" with ribbon stems in a pot

The girls also LOVE their crayola rolls~!!!