Hi everybody - I wanted to share something that totally made me cry. As those of you who follow me on social media know, I donated two dolls - Riley and Xavier to the State Mental Hospital in South Dakota for Cuddle therapy. The nurse Annette, in the picture here arranged to have all the dolls (those she bought from me personally along with those I donated - a total of 5) displayed in a case for the patients to see before they were released to units to be held and used by the patients. After much anticipation and a long month they were then taken out and brought out for the patients to use.
Below is her note to me about how the first day went when she was able to take the two donated dolls around to the patients for the first time. (She okayed me sharing all this and weâve changed the patientâs name so donât worry).
I just want to say a huge âThank Youâ to Annette for everything she does and for allowing me to be a part of this hospital and these patientsâ lives. I love what I do, and Iâm so glad I get to do it with/for such thoughtful people, like Annette and the other nurses at the SDSMH!
==============
Dear Maddie!!
What a fabulously fun day we had!!! Oh, how I wish you could have been there, how I wish I could have videotaped!! Iâll do my best to describe the excitement! Two other nurses met me at the library and we dismantled the window (which was hard to do! The librarian told me that they have never had so many comments about any display before!) I attached some photos below.
First, we took Riley down to one of the geriatric units, and went into the âday hallâ area where several patients were sitting and it wasnât long before she was the center of attention! Three women scooted their chairs tightly up against me to stare at her, their expressions were priceless! More than a few times, I had to remind them that it was a "baby doll ", not a real baby. I pointed out the little scratch on Rileyâs cheek and one of the women said âAwwww, what did she do ~ fall down??â -lol I pulled Rileyâs little leg out of her sleeper and they could not stop counting, touching, and talking about her little toes and couldnât believe how tiny they were. (LOVED the toes & toenails!! lol) I kissed Riley goodbye and when we left the unit, the three were taking turns holding her, and counting her fingers⌠and she was attracting a crowd!
We were on our way to the other unit to deliver Xavier, and I had a specific patient in mind that I had previously told you about that I thought would be an excellent candidate for him. When I was reaching for the door of the unit to go in, Maddie, the most amazing thing happened! The door opened, and out walked one of the patients that I used to care for and he stopped in his tracks when he saw me carrying Xavier. Brian is 35 yrs old, and he is a very ill man who has actually been hospitalized for the past 16 yrs. (He has always been one of my favorite patients). Our hospital is essentially his home. I know that is very hard to imagine, isnât it? I could see that he wasnât quite sure about this baby I was carrying. I greeted him and said âBrian! Look at the baby doll I have! Iâm going to take it into your unit so he can stay there awhile for everyone to see-- would you like to hold him?â He gave me the response I expected âOh no, Annette-- I donât think I should hold a little baby!â So I pushed Xavier at him and into his arms and told him, âitâs just a doll, Brian~ hold him once, he feels so awesome.â Well, he looked horrified for about 2 seconds, then
I asked him if heâd like to walk around with me and hold the baby for awhile and he very quickly agreed, and within seconds he was rocking and bouncing the baby on his shoulder and patting his back! He couldnât pronounce Xavier, so I told him that he could name the baby anything heâd like, and he immediately said âZackâ. I told him that was a perfect name! We have never seen Brian smile like this before and believe me-- all of us had a hard time not tearing up in front of him (we all did that later). He very proudly led the way back into the unit to introduce the baby!
Later, one of the nurses who had accompanied Xavier and I to the unit that morning had come in that evening to work the night shift. By that time, Brian had found a clothes basket and put folded towels in the bottom, he had placed âZackâ in a pillowcase to keep warm and put him in the basket. He had printed âZack Johnâ on a piece of blue paper and taped it to the clothes basket. Brian was taking the baby throughout the unit and was introducing him to everyone as his âcousinâ 
He explained to the nurse that he was afraid to take âZackâ to bed with him at night because âZack might roll out of the bedâ. He was also concerned that Zack would need to eat something, so the nurse assured Brian that the baby would be safe in the basket at night, and that she had a baby bottle at home that she would bring for Zack. The staff are watching carefully for any signs of jealousy from other patients. Brian seems to have made himself the babyâs sole caretaker and heâs been pretty âprotectiveâ of the baby ~ we may soon have to discuss the concept of âsharingâ with Brian
Maddie, Cuddle Therapy is obvious, but I also saw something else entirely⌠We were astounded and would never have guessed that Brian had the proper insight regarding the necessary elements required to care for a baby. We could never have known he had that capacity were it not for the opportunity to have a reborn baby available for him to actually demonstrate this to us. It makes my heart so happy to watch Brian caring for his baby âcousinâ. In my view, this too, is Therapy ~ Thank you for that! Every time I work, a staff person stops me, thanks me for âknowing youâ and mentions you and your generosity. We are so very thankful, Maddie, we feel Blessed!
~ Annette
ď¸. How generous of you! I think you got back more than you gave 
