This is a story about a lady patient who we met on Monday, a lady who lay in bed next to a teddy bear. The lady was cheerful and talkative, welcoming my colleague Lucy and I for a long chat. Well of course we were drawn to her bear, dressed in a light blue felt jacket and red shorts. I think in the past he also wore a cocked hat with a feather in it. The name of the bear was Wino. She told us that he was a former alcoholic! Apparently, she found him one day at home with his hat askew and his feather pointing south-west instead of north-east. Hence, she then called him Wino. Obviously, he had been drunk. The good news is that Wino never touched a drink since being named.
The lady patient lived with MS. We asked her how many other bears she had at home and she told us about 100. A collector of bears. These bears were her family. The patient was quite clear what she would do if she were to die. She would bin most of the bears, just giving away a few of her favourites. We asked her about her other bears. There was one called Smelly. Well Smelly to his friends but she called him Smell! It wasn’t that his smell was unpleasant; it was just a bear smell! Other bears names were Puddles and Pinkhead.
We asked what it was that first attracted her to bears, what was it she found fascinating? Her answer wasn’t what I was expecting. She said she fell in love with their bums, the way their bums kind of wiggle when they walk off away from the camera, pigeon toed. Well for the life of me I’ve never studied a bear from behind.
Well of course I had my Bluetooth speaker with me and I just had to play The Teddy Bears Picnic. As the tune began to play, so I picked up Smelly from her bed and began moving his legs to the beat and doing one or two turns but the patient asked me to stop as this made her feel dizzy! She wasn’t accustomed to her bears doing dances! It occurred to me how valuable it is to care for somebody else, be it a pet or a cuddly toy. The current Volunteer of the Year is in fact a dog called Bruno. It is a almost as if Bruno knows exactly what he is doing, how he enjoys meeting patients, many of whom are elderly or are living with dementia. So here's to Smelly and all other teddy bears who provide such love for their owners.
