Do you know someone under 40 years of age enduring pediatric cancer? If you do, please determine if they meet our qualifications to become a Dragonfly, then read our tips below for suggestions on ways you can support the young patient and their family.
- Read and share our Tips Booklet and our I Am Still Me (TM) Hair Loss Book.
- Provide the family with:
- GAS CARDS: They will be making daily (sometimes multiple times a day) trips to/from the hospital. Gas is expensive!!!
- GIFT CARDS: Starbucks, Target, Toys R Us, Amazon, iTunes
- HOSPITAL IN-ROOM MEAL CARDS (usually sold in the hospital cafeterias)
- Send get-well cards (Note: We do not recommend sending or receiving cards to/from strangers, due to concerns about infection, bedbugs and potentially disturbing content.)
- Call the hospital to find out if they charge families for parking. Some hospitals charge a $25/day parking fee.
- Take a moment to read our Volunteer Protocols, which share a lot of valuable information about patient/family relations.
- Help the family keep their yard maintained and their driveway shoveled.
- Drive up and down their driveway so their house look lived in
- Offer to pick up their mail
- Create or donate to a monetary fund to help offset medical expenses
- Pool sick days to give to a caregiver, because they will need time off
- Help the family buy a freezer to keep in their garage, then ask friends and family to help keep it filled with easy to prepare (MICROWAVABLE) meals and ice cream (everyone needs something sweet)
- Buy or lend the patient a smart phone or tablet, such as an iPad, Kindle, or other smart device, and provide them with a related gift card (such as iTunes) so they can purchase books, movies, and games
- Consider buying or lending the family/patient a laptop
- Remember to take care of caregiver(s): Send them to a salon or to dinner to give them a much needed break and some “me time”
- Send a text or direct message to let the patient/caregiver/family know they are not alone.
- Consider sending a daily text, even if it is just a smiley face.
- Don’t ask questions which require a response. A simple “thinking of you” or “wishing you well” will suffice.
- Check out meal sharing websites, such as TakeThemAMeal.com and share it with people who know or live around the family.
- Don’t visit unless you first ask permission
- Patients are often immune-compromised, even after being released from the hospital. Coming to visit, especially if someone in your household is sick, puts the patient at risk.
- It takes energy away from the fight and the ability to meet hour-to-hour, day-to-day challenges
- During treatment, all kinds of strangers come into your life (doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and well-meaning people). Sometimes it can feel like a patient and their family have no privacy or, worse, that they are put on display.
- Be supportive without being intrusive