Patricia Gallagher

Jan 5, 2011 by Gretchen Seefried

It was just about this time last year when Patricia Gallagher decided she needed to do something else.  An inspirational writer, speaker, and consultant, Patricia has long found feelings of healing and hope by bringing them to others.  From the 100,000 Team of Angels pins and poems, she has distributed over the past 12 years, to founding an organization to educate and support families who are coping with depression, Trisha has looked for, and found ways to make a difference by sharing her experiences and encouraging others to share their own.

But last December, after trying to comfort a woman who’d recently lost her son to suicide, Patricia realized that these conversations were hitting too close to home.  Nearly twelve years ago, her husband, John, had attempted suicide. And now, talking about the suicide of a boy near the age of her own children seemed overwhelming. She didn’t know what to do instead, but felt so blue, she knew she must do something.

Patricia went out and bought several copies of “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” called a couple of local nursing homes, told them she was with the Stories for Seniors Program (the name just came to her…maybe that’s what’s really meant by ‘out of the blue’!) and asked if she could come read to the residents.  And that’s exactly what she did…bringing along an assortment of stuffed animals and country Christmas decorations to hang up and share during the story hour.

When it came time to leave, so she could go to the second nursing home, the residents didn’t want to let go of the stuffed animals…and she suddenly saw how much something as small as a warm, fuzzy toy could mean to a lonely senior.

This was just the beginning of Stories for Seniors.  It soon developed into the interactive 20 Wonderful Things Program, and the Cover a Senior With Love Campaign, a year-round way to acknowledge and honor older Americans.

The organization’s mission is to provide new and gently used stuffed animals and lap blankets, (crocheted and knitted lap blankets, baby blankets, holiday throw blankets, fleece blankets and afghans) for the residents of nursing homes. Items are lovingly given to the elderly as a simple way to say, “You are not forgotten. You are appreciated. You are loved.”

Since their inception in December of 2009, these programs have delivered 1,200 plush animals and 300 blankets to 22 facilities including homeless shelters, nursing homes, retirement communities, recovery centers, and Veterans Medical facilities.

Providing more than just the comfort of a stuffed animal or a blanket, Patricia also ignites the warmth of memory prompting the seniors with simple, yet thought provoking and open-ended questions like:

• Who do you love the most?
• Who loved you the most?
• Were you ever a Scout?
• What is your favorite pie?
• Who was your first real love?

She also shares a vintage apple basket and an old suitcase filled with a variety of items triggering lots of “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from the group.  Each item reminds the residents of a story, or a favorite time in their lives.

Holding up a cooking pot, Patricia will ask: What is your favorite thing to cook?  She hears answers like “tender roast turkey with mashed potatoes”, “sweet potatoes”, “fresh-made popcorn”, “macaroni and cheese”, “fish tacos”, “beef stroganoff,” “sweet potato pie”, “collard greens”.  This exchange lures the group back to another time, back to dining rooms with heavenly smells, and memories of dinner with their grandparents and families.  Then, the talk turns to other memories, from childhood chores, to the flaky crust on a pie they once made,  to the friends they had in earlier days.

One lady told Patricia, “I really like this because you are really talking to us.” That simple statement, and this recent email from a Vet at the VA facility she visited this fall, holds testament to the love with which Trish Gallagher is blanketing these souls.

“Patricia, what you are doing is unbuttoning a mind. Your program is better than Medicaid and Medicare. Vets like to remember their lives.”

Knowing that the seniors love presents just as much now as they did when they were children, Trish makes sure that every resident gets a gift, every time! They can select from her large sack of stuffed animals – and then, she’ll ask why they selected the particular animal.  They are reminded that someone cares about them.

Twelve months and thousands of unbuttoned minds later, Patricia reflects:

Many of the seniors are in wheelchairs, with big wheels, metal sides and brakes, far removed from the way they used to get around.

If we were in their place, what would it mean to us if someone brought in a beautiful, soft blanket that could lay across our lap? Or a stuffed animal, such as an adorable white fluffy poodle, that reminded us of a forsaken long- time companion?

Not really for warmth but for comfort, a symbol of a spirit of giving. The blankets and stuffed animals, perhaps, are an inventive way to say thanks to the Vets for their service, maybe even an expression of Thanksgiving.

Her December 26^th post, “The Ladies on Nursing Home Floor 2,”  reminds us how the highs and lows of our human experience are shared by all, and that by sharing our stories, we can often escape the sorrow, and experience joy.