Give InKind’s Care Calendar helps answer the central question of how to give or receive support. In this case, how to set up a support page for someone who has recently had surgery.
Getting Started
Designate an organized close friend or family member to sit down with the patient or their partner to understand food preferences, scheduled appointments, or other things with which they may need help. First, take a moment to review the functions of the Care Calendar. Remember that many hands mean light(er) work. Visit articles about medical/surgical support on Give InKind and share them with your core group of helpers [See a sample Give InKind Page here].
Care Calendar
For patients recovering from surgery, a great deal of support is needed. Consider the unique situation of the family. Is there an elderly spouse/partner? If a surgical patient is younger, are there young children in need of care? All calendar elements can be customized.
- Food: Organizing meals and groceries are always among the most popular calendar features. Make sure to list any food allergies, as well as food preferences or dietary restrictions. What kind of meals do they prefer to eat? How do they prefer they be delivered? If the patient is still in the hospital find out whether they can receive take-out.
- Childcare: The care calendar easily allows multiple sign-ups for different extracurricular activities. Boy Scout meetings or tutoring for siblings can be easily added as separate items. One-off things like help with homework/a class project also fit into this category nicely.
- Pet Care: Are there dogs, cats, or hamsters to take care of? Schedule daily visits for small animal care. Arrange a dog walker as many times a day as is necessary, or consider doggy daycare/boarding.
- Home Services: Add calendar events for a friend to be there for standing pest control appointments, to check the mail, or run some laundry. A cleaning service is always welcome.
- Other: “Other" is for items that need to happen but don’t fall into one defined area. “Other" can be late-night check-ins or a shared Netflix streaming movie night. “Other" is a good way to plan times for loved ones to stay connected – offering encouragement, love, and even humor.
Fundraising: Depending upon the length of disability, expenses for medical supplies, bills, and so on – people may need money. If necessary, create a PayPal or a Gofundme to help cover expenses and simply enable the fundraising button on your Give InKind page to link these accounts.
Wishlist: A Wishlist can be customized allowing loved ones to give the perfect gift to the post-op patient, or to assist their caregivers. Take a minute to browse Give InKind’s curated items for medical/surgical items those in similar situations have found helpful. When you see an item that could be helpful, add it using the “+" icon.
You may also link an existing Amazon Wishlist to this function by enabling the button and copying the link in that field.
Communication Preferences
Keep friends and family informed of how a patient prefers communication (these can be easily updated as necessary as the situation changes).
Phone Calls: Ask whether a patient is feeling well enough to talk on the phone. They may prefer texts or emails. In the event that the recipient is not able to communicate by phone or text, you may designate a third party who will be tasked as the family spokesperson.
Visitors: Although this gesture is appreciated, patients’ may not be up to receiving visitors. Some people may feel quite vulnerable. Others may welcome friendly faces. It depends upon the person, and it’s worth a quick conversation.
Flowers: Sending flowers brightens up a room. Many surgical patients reveal that flowers do cheer them up. That said, hospitals have different policies about accepting flowers so it is definitely worth asking.
Updates
Use a designated family spokesperson to keep friends and family members up to date using unlimited updates.
Unfortunately, the world does not stop turning when we are presented with challenging situations. Nevertheless, “A tiny spark ignites a flame, just as a helping hand can do the same," wrote Get your Give InKind Support Page set up in minutes, here.
If you have any further questions, visit Give InKind’s Help Center or view our helpful articles about post-surgical situations.
Give InKind does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We have an affiliate relationship with many of the advertisers on our site, and may receive a commission from any products purchased from links in this article. See Terms & Conditions.