Need Unique Get-well Gift Ideas ASAP!

Wow, so sorry to hear about your friend. She is so young, too. Just spending time with you is a wonderful gift. Don't underestimate the power of sisterhood - it will help her heal quicker too! Setting up a schedule, with other friends, to make dinner for her and her family for a week, or two, is a nice gesture - and I'm sure would touch her heart. Even if you made dinner for her for the first night that she was home - dropping it off and leaving, would be lovely. Best of luck to you and your friend.

I would say a nice book and a mood Cd, something that is relaxing and calming. Maybe a lavender candle or (you are going to think this is funny) a buckwheat hull pillow. These pillows are the greatest pillow. the can be used for sleeping, or behind you back, or under your legs. They contour like no pillow you have ever seen. We all 3 have them in our house all think they are the greatest gifts for someone who is looking for a little comfort.

S.

I am so sorry about your friend. It must be very h*** o* her.
As a nurse I know that most people in the hospital hate hospital gowns. A nice nightgown would be appreciated once she is out of the ICU. And believe it or not, one of the friends of a recent open-heart patient brought her a nursing gown so the staff could open up the front to view the incision and look at tube sites. It was very feminine and lovely. A nice robe or slippers is also a great gift.

Book light and a couple of books that might be of interest (or gc to amazon.com so books can be delivered)?

A gift card for a Pedicure...that maybe you guys could use together when she is better? Maybe you could give her a pedicure while she is recovering? Maybe take a basket of nail polish, a file and a pumice?

How about gift card for a massage? Send someone to clean her house before she comes home? Provide several meals for her during recovery?

If these don't work, how about flowers? A girl can never have too many flowers and I will tell you what. If I had Open Heart Surgery, I would want flowers.

Hope this helps. Good luck and best wishes to your friend.
N.

This response might be a bit late, but I recently gave my MIL a gift she loved after her knee surgery. I made her a "Hawaii in a Box" gift! I found a plain shoe box and wrote "Hawaii in a Box" in bold letters on the lid. I filled it with some macadamia nuts, a lei, tropical scented lotion and other Hawaii/tropical themed items (most found at the local dollar store). She is originally from Hawaii so she loved it.

Maybe you could do "Relaxation in a Box" (lotion, teas, nice smelling candle, some soft socks) or for summer you could do "Romance Novel in a Box" with a steamy novel, a packet of kleenex to dab your eyes after the happy ending, a small box of candy with a fake love note from Fabio attached - ha!.

You can really do any theme you want depending on the person's background or hobbies. I hope your friend has a speedy recovery.

Annie

There is a company called Spa Where You Are (www.spawhereyouare.com). I received a gift card for a pedicure while I was on bedrest during my first pregnancy.

I never used it through (shame on me, I know!!) but my baby was born early and then I had a premie newborn and we bought a house when he was 4 weeks old and blah blah blah.

Anyway, they'll come to her house and do the services and maybe if you brought lunch or dinner and did them side by side, it'd be a nice treat for the two of you and you could catch up.

I would double check though because after a heart surgery I know many people need an antibiotic before going to the dentist and I don't know if the same applies to spa treatments (my guess is that it's because of bacterias introduced to the body and the heart's inability to fend off infection.)

If that won't work, once she's home, maybe a gift certificate to Netflix? That way she can order and have the movies delivered and picked up from her house. Or offer to clean her house and do laundry once a week? Or hire a company who can do it if she's not comfortable with friends washing her skivies.

Time with her will be the most important thing though and I agree with another poster to get a schedule going. There is nothing like the long, drawn out days of being stuck at home while the rest of the world is going on around you. It can really suck.

Good luck and you're a good friend for wanting to do something different!

I think all the ideas you've gotten are great and can't go wrong with any of them. My suggestion would be to hire a massage therapist to come to her in the hospital. Even if they just rub her legs and arms, I bet it would make her feel great. Laying in a bed flat on your back for that kind of time is terrible for the body and just uncomfortable. It would do wonders for her circulation too. I would just check with her nurses/doctors to make sure it's ok.

Dinner by Design gift card where she can pick pre-made healthy meals. They have low fat options.