Tag: Our Impact

The Comfort Cub has proven to be impactful for people suffering from dementia. We work closely with LightBridge Hospice Community Foundation in San Diego, and they shared the following five stories. Our hearts are full seeing how this Comfort Cub has a life of its own with every story we receive. Do you have a story to share? Email us at Stories@thecomfortcub.org.

A patient of ours was never very affectionate. Her children said she was not ever “motherly” to them. Recently in her dementia diagnosis she has been reaching out for hugs when she sees people, so her care team thought a Comfort Cub might satisfy that need. She is nonverbal, but when the case manager walked in the door with the bear, the patient stretched her arms out for it immediately. She put the bear over her shoulder and started patting it’s back like a baby and rocking it. The adult children were shocked, and have since shared that this bear has become a way for them to connect with their mother.

A patient with dementia loves to have her Comfort Cub next to her, even when she isn’t holding it. She typically does not speak any words, but when a staff member temporarily moved the bear away from her, she said “back! back!” and started reaching for the bear (communicating that she wanted her cuddly friend back). When her Comfort Cub was placed on her lap, she became calm once again.

A patient living at a facility enjoys having her Comfort Cub in her arms. When she carries it into the common areas, the other residents get envious and stare at it until they get a chance to give it a hold too!

In speaking to a patient’s daughter about Comfort Cubs, she felt it would be a great idea for her mother. Her mother has dementia and she is fond of hugs and physical touch. When I shared the idea behind the cubs, she was thrilled and said her mom would love it.” – LightBridge Social Worker

“I gave the patient a comfort bear and she held onto it the whole time I was there. She is usually very anxious during her breathing treatments, but she sat still, holding her bear and didn’t mind it at all!” – LightBridge RN

From The Comfort Cub: The following post is a raw, honest glimpse into the incredibly deep heart ache experienced by a women who has lost a child. In this case Sabrina has lost 3 children in the span of six years. We share this story to underscore why we do what we do. When our founder, Marcella, experienced her heartache at the lost of her son George, her grief was unbearable. She vowed to help other women going through this same heartache. Sabrina, we stand by your side, here to help and here to comfort. A Comfort Cub is on it’s way to you.

Guest post By Sabrina

This is my 3rd miscarriage in 6 years with no living children. We are a bit financially strained at the moment, as I have missed quite a bit of work due to our loss and the overwhelming depression that seemed to come out of left field with the loss, in particular.

We were hopeful that this pregnancy would be successful and finally have a living child that we have prayed so desperately for over the years. My job became very stressful all of a sudden just a little over a month into my pregnancy, as our company is rapidly growing. Being very understaffed, as well as experiencing several life situations, one of which includes a mother-in-law showing increased signs of dementia. I am a step-mother to my husband’s 2 beautiful children, twin 12 year olds, a boy and a girl. But with that comes quite a bit of drama in the co-parenting aspect, as well as the normal challenges that any step parent faces in not being a biological parent to them.

My income has always been the one we relied heavily on, especially with child support being taken out of my husband’s income. After losing our son at 14 weeks, I started to shut down and become closed off, not wanting to deal with the pain, guilt, shame, and anger that I felt.

My doctor recently started me on depression and anxiety meds, but he warned me it may take quite some time to feel any effects. In the meantime, no matter how much I try to manage my emotions daily, there are days where the tears just won’t stop, the pain is overwhelming and the thought of facing life is just too much. So I stay in bed, knowing it is putting a burden on us financially, perpetuating the seemingly never ending cycle.

My doctor just suggested bereavement counseling, so I am working on finding somewhere local for that as well. I still am unable to look at ultrasound photos, my husband had to put them out of sight for me for now.

Guest Post by Jackie C.

My son started preschool when he was 2 years old. He had a pretty typical experience. However, when he turned 3 years old like the rest of his peers, I was told that he would be left behind. We are talking about preschool, so he was not left behind academically. Rather, he was left behind due to behavioral issues. My son’s class was at the age where they were all required to take a nap. There was no other option for them. My son did not need a nap, so his restlessness drove his class crazy and none of the other children were able to rest due to his behavior. The teacher suggested punishing my son for not laying still, preventing the other kids from napping.

We decided to enroll him in another preschool that provided an INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN or IEP. At this new school, he was able to have sensory breaks and was provided with behavioral intervention. My son was provided with tools to learn how to play appropriately with other children his age.

It was around this time that I bumped into a long-time friend, Marcella. She is one of my favorite human beings in this world. We had not seen each other in many years, but we were always connected by the heart. Our parking lot encounter was short, sweet, and impactful, as is every exchange with Marcella.

Marcella asked me how I was doing and I explained to her what was going on in my life. She had a Comfort Cub in her hands, which she was about to ship to a mother who had lost a child. She handed it to me and said “Here, this bear will help!”

From the moment my son received his weighted therapeutic Comfort Cub, “George”, he has been sleeping with his buddy. Today he is 9 years old and our early intervention (and this cub) made all the difference.