What is anything to buy a LO in a skilled nursing facility who really has reached the point that she doesn't even know who we are...... Of course we will get her something small like pj's or a robe but there is honestly nothing left that she enjoys anymore including visits as they just seem to agitate her so we try and make them short and sweet.
I noticed she had also taken down all of the family photos from her walls, but seemed to think someone else had done it. Made me wonder if she was angry at me when she removed them, because I'm not able to be there with her all the time. It's sad. But she needs around the clock care at this point, with absolutely everything.
It was one of the first major signs that something was off with my mom, when she didn't want to put up a tree in her own home anymore and stopped caring much for Christmas.
Or plants that inevitably died cause she'd forget to care for them.
Even her cacti / succulents tried to "escape" by growing these long stalks, trying to get the heck out of the pot. Who knows where they thought they were going? But they tried nonetheless.
I switched to costume jewelry for her. Or things like that. Sun-catchers, to catch the light coming through the windows. Those lamps that cycle through colors. Basically, things she could say "How pretty" and zone out on that required no care. <3
It may sound a bit mean, but even just the unwrapping was fun for her.
My GF suggested this year as with prices and inflation, little edible gifts, cookies, chocolates etc.
You just brought back sweet memories of my mom to me.
When I would visit mom during her final weeks in hospice, she would ask for her favorite body lotion and her beloved ‘Oil of Olay.’
My mother was 95 when she died and didn’t have a wrinkle on her face! Great genes. My grandmother didn’t either. Nor do I. Grandma didn’t use anything other than soap and water on her face. I use moisturizer like my mom did.
If she has a favorite treat, cookies or cake, then bring that with you when you visit her.
Wishing you peace as you go through this difficult caregiving process.