Hello from a caregiver in Sweden- English is my first language so finding you all here is a blessing. I hope I can give support here, as well as benefit from your own wisdom. Husband is scheduled to start treatment in a few days and we are worried, scared, hopeful and all emotions in-between, or course. He has malignant melanoma that has spread, after a very long period from 2008 on, where there were no signs of this, after multiple checkups.
I have a practical question for caregivers who accompany loved ones to treatment. I will have at least 2-3 hours, I'm told, where I'm going to be on my own in a waiting area. What do you do when you are waiting? I am a prodigious reader but it's hard to concentrate at the hospital, for some reason, so I'd love to have some other ideas for take-with-you entertainment that is easy to put down and then take back up again at the next visit. Thanks so much for your ideas!
Hi DidiSE
Welcome to our community, I hope you find it both informative and supportive.
In Oxford I was allowed to be with my wife while she had chemo so not really similar, however in the past something I used to do in passing the time was crossstitch. Indeed one time when I was making some napkin rings the staff were fascinated to see a man doing that and ended up giving me lunch.
Something that I found helpful when my wife was really ill was a game on my laptop that had a loose sort of team backdrop when we could message each other on a kind of chat board, I found it a useful disctraction.
I have also used colouring books as something to help distract me when I have been quite stressed.
Hope that helps.
<<hugs>>
Steve
