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Sharing the memory of love, one baby at a time

The team at Wichita Presbyterian Manor put on an amazing baby shower called Pearl’s Babies for our Memory Care Residents in May.  It even drew the attention of both KWCH TV and KSN-TV to cover the event.

Residents received a lifelike baby doll or a stuffed puppy, donated by Pearl’s Memory Babies.  The non-profit organization is dedicated to enriching the lives of seniors with Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments.  Pearl’s babies founder realized the baby dolls help by rekindling “something inside the residents’ memories and hearts.”

The response was immediate – as soon as our residents got to hold their “babies” their eyes lit up.  Some started singing to the babies, others talked to them, hugged, and kissed them.

“She’s a sweet baby, a real sweet baby” one resident kept telling her baby doll as she kissed her.

“Look what I got,” another resident proclaimed.

“It’s real, it’s raw, it’s a moment that they get to experience,” said Sarah Oenning, PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America®) Vice President of Giving.  “The moment they hold these babies, it brings back that historical moment in their lives.”

Pearl’s Memory Babies delivers babies to senior living communities across the country and it’s always a heart-warming, emotional experience.  The organization started when one of the founder’s mother-in-law, Pearl, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  The family found the only thing that could soothe her was a baby doll.

“It’s happening in their minds; it’s happening in their hearts.  It brings joy to the heart,” said Oenning.

The residents get to keep and care for their baby dolls or puppies.