Pearls of joy

 

Sandy Cambron delivered several babies to residents at The Lantern at Morning Pointe on Friday. She shared a few puppies and kittens too. Of course they weren’t real “babies,” but realistic-looking baby dolls, swaddled in soft blankets, tied with a satin ribbon. 

Pearl’s Memory Babies is based in Shepherdsville and delivers baby dolls and stuffed toy dogs and cats to patients in memory care facilities.

While waiting on the babies to be delivered, Director of The Lantern at Morning Pointe Sherri Brown said “cuddle therapy is a big thing.” Holding a baby doll or petting a toy puppy or kitten often can bring back feelings of happier times from their past, she said.

Cambron is founder and president of Pearl’s Memory Babies, which gives baby dolls to Alzheimer’s and dementia patients that can be used in cuddle therapy, she said.

Cambron said she started the organization after watching how her late mother-in-law calmed down when she was holding her baby doll. She and her husband decided they wanted to give other patients baby dolls too.

Sometimes, the patient doesn’t want a doll, but they do enjoy petting a stuffed animal, she said.

One by one, Cambron gently carried a baby doll to those who wanted to hold it, and softly told them that the baby was theirs to keep. Some patients didn’t want the gift, but three of them preferred the animals to hold and take back to their apartment.

After all of the deliveries were made in the room that was decorated like a baby shower, the patients, families and staff celebrated with a pink and blue cake.