what do you do for a PALS's birthday?

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granddaughterinmil

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My grandma's birthday is this weekend and I have no idea what to give her or do for her. Her limbs are immobile, she can hardly talk and she chokes on her food. She does not want to have dinner with the family as usual. Any sort of usual gift seems trivial under the circumstances. I want to convey how much I love and care for her on what could be her last birthday :( , yet I don't want to give anything too sentimental as to make it a big emotional event and draw an unnecessary attention to her condition and hinder any tiny glint of joy she may get out of it.
 
Hello - I found a fleece shoulder wrap with wrist cuffs at a Homecare pharmacy for my Mom. It rests on her shoulders and she can slip her wrists in the cuffs to help keep the wrap from falling. I called it her hug wrap 'cause its like warm arms around her shoulders. She can still get a hug from me when I'm not there!
Best wishes to you and your grandma.
 
Hi granddaughter. Do you have kids? A nice picture of you and your family to put on the dresser or the wall where she can see it is a nice gift. I think when I am in the same condition just an extra visit from you and the family will mean a lot as well. I'm a guy and we think a bit different but those things would mean something to me. AL. By the way say happy birthday from me.
 
i think even though we have a miserable disease, sitting around with close family is a good thing. even if we cry, we know life goes on and family gatherings are so important. perhaps going through old photos or assembling a photo collage might be nie. it may make her cry, but dont worry about that. anyhow...have a happy day
 
Hi Granddaughter. A couple of things that might be nice for your Gram......really wonderful skin creams, we found that Sis got a lot of comfort when we used them to massage her back, legs, arms ( we used massage oils later).
Books on tape helped to fill the time, we were able to get a few by her favorite author.
Bible is also avail on tape (the one we had was recorded by Johnny Cash).
You can buy artic fleece booties that have a heatable pad that fits in the sole, wonderful for cold feet. (not suitable for walking in). Just pop in microwave for 1 minute.
FAmily and friends in to visit and remenise (spelling?) are also wonderful.

Wish her a very wonderful birthday and enjoy every minute of it!

jane
 
This group is great and so full of good ideas too. all the ideas given are very nice.
Im sure anything you do will be great,,Just show grandma the love. Love is the best gift of all. Remind her of all the love she has shown you and the happy times she has made into memories.
 
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Hi folks. There is not a problem putting up a location or url for something for ALS patients from a company like Walgreen's. I am sure they are not paying you to have hits registered on their site. That is the problem we have had with the other advertisers. If it is beneficial to us and it is not a scam or somebody isn't getting rich from hits on a suspect site then we allow it. Sometimes we remove things and it upsets some people but for the general good for everyone on the site we'd rather err on the side of caution. AL and David.
 
My fathers birthday was just recent.
I guess it depends on the attitude of the person.

My dad wanted very much for the whole family to come around, and he wanted the traditional big dinner. Not because he would eat it, but because of the festiveness that surrounds it. Everyone around the table talking and carrying on. And he's still part of that, writing notes on his whiteboard, which he's gotten quite skillful at expressing himself with.

Like many ALS folk, he's become quite unmaterialistic. He doesn't really want or need any presents. He wants his family, and he loved getting photos of the occasion after the event. Become a sentimental bugger, he has. :)
 
Party

Gail just celebrated her birthday in October and at first she really didn't want to do anything. I said that we needed to do something for the kids sake.

Well, we decided to surprise the kids and take them out of school for the day. We went to Chuck E Cheese's and had a full blown birthday party, with loot bags and dancing. cake and pizza. I made Gail wear her paper crown and I refused to take mine off until the day was over. It was funny to see at the tables, they write the birthday person's name and age on a board, and of course there's "Sally who's 7" and " Jack who's 8" and then there was "Gail who's 42". It was so funny.
We had a blast!The kids said " Mommy, this is the best birthday you have ever had!"

Seeing the kids so happy, was a great present, I think!

Have fun!

Barbie :-D
 
Hi Granddaughter- So sweet of you to put such thought into a gift for Grandma. She must be a special lady to have such a warm and supportative family. Your question made me think because I suspect the day will come when traditional gifts won't work for me, either. Right now I visit a lot of folks in nursing homes who are fragile and have lots of health issues. The think they keep telling me is that the VISIT is what counts. One man called it "contact with the outside world." Hope your Grandma's Birthday is happy and best wishes to you all.
 
awesome idea Barbie

Barbie4 said:
Gail just celebrated her birthday in October and at first she really didn't want to do anything. I said that we needed to do something for the kids sake.

Well, we decided to surprise the kids and take them out of school for the day. We went to Chuck E Cheese's and had a full blown birthday party, with loot bags and dancing. cake and pizza. I made Gail wear her paper crown and I refused to take mine off until the day was over. It was funny to see at the tables, they write the birthday person's name and age on a board, and of course there's "Sally who's 7" and " Jack who's 8" and then there was "Gail who's 42". It was so funny.
We had a blast!The kids said " Mommy, this is the best birthday you have ever had!"

Seeing the kids so happy, was a great present, I think!

Have fun!

Barbie :-D
Barbie that party sounds so cool. Gail is very lucky to have you in her life. I bet that was one of her favorite parties as well as the kids,,to see her kids laughing and playing must have really warmed her heart. Keep on being you Barbie.
PaulaB
 
Barb,
You are amazing! What a fantastic thing you did not only for Gail but for the kids too. I'll bet that was one of the best parties anyone has every thrown for her ;o) Times like that will never be forgotten.
Cindy
 
another day

Thanks Paula and Cindy:

I just delivered the pictures of the party to Gail today. They are good, especially the one of her with Chucky. ha ha.
Paula, I told Gail your story today of your "freedom" shopping in your wheelchair, So I don't know if your ears were burning today, but if they were, it was us talking about you.

We had a nice day today. I went with Gail to the pool as she has started physiotherapy there. It was great to see her moving well within the water. Then we went out to a really nice restaurant for lunch, but we were both in Track pants and very underdressed. It was great.

Cindy, We picked up wire today to string the bracelets on cards, and I offered to take a bunch home to do, but Gail said to leave it for now. I am excellent at putting them on the cards, I have to say! ha ha. She might bring me some on Saturday to do.

Paula, if you would like me to send you a bracelet (my treat) send me your address by private message, and I would be happy to send you one. They are very pretty.

Hope you both have a wonderful day. Even though it has started to snow here. :-|
Time to get the woooleys out. :)

Barbie xo :)
 
For those CALS amongst us I want you all to know that PALS (or at least his one..lol) loves manicures, pedicures, facials, and lounge clothes that can be worn day or night without underwear. Also a trip to the beauty shop to have a hair cut is a good thing.
 
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