I'm just at a loss really. My Grandads been diagnosed with Parkinson's for over 20 years. He's gone dramatically down hill these last few months. He's chosen to live in a residential care home of his choice 14 months ago and the past 3 months he's gone to having a permanent urinary catheter in place. He doesn't speak to anyone in the home or me when I visit him. He has a kindle which he reads a lot & a dvd/TV player which he doesn't watch that often. I have flowers delivered twice a month which he smiles about. I can't stand the residential care home as his needs aren't met but as he has full capacity it falls on deaf ears so when I do visit I take him out around the town. For fresh air, but he rarely talks or if he does its over something I don't know about. He's on soft foods as having issues swallowing. He's unable to walk and is supported by 2 carers if he wants to move, he's sleeping during the day. I buy his toiletries on a regular basis. He's signed up to the magazine subscriptions he wanted.
Im struggling for ideas for Christmas aside from a sun catcher & artificial flowers I really don't know what to get him.
Are there any photos lying around which you could make into an album. There are numerous online outfits that will make digitisal photos into a nicely set out album. I am afraid I haven't used them myself so can't help with the actual sites. And/or put photos on a flash drive to use with a tele if it has a usb port or with a dedicated digital photo frame which show them as a slide show.. Even just a large framed mozaic of small snaps can be a talking point.
I googled "we will digitise your photos" and came up with firms which will do the digitising etc. for you such as http://www.digitiseyourphotos.co.uk/ Obviously it cost but they do not seem extortionate and it is a bit time consuming to do yourself and you need a scanner.. I believe some printer=scanners have such a facility on them.
My Mum was on a puree diet too, but there are some foods that are melt in the mouth...like Quavers, some little chocolate biscuits designed for 6 month old babes - (take them out of the packet and put in a biscuit box and they look like any other mini biscuit!) chocolate buttons and a few other items that I can't recall now!
I work with Speech and Language therapists and they suggested these foods, they are often used for people who have swallowing issues.
Mum really enjoyed having something to bite on, back in her diet! and would have her 'crunch - then melt in the mouth foods' as a 'side ' on her plate of soft food. She enjoyed the biscuits along with a drink too.
I will see if I can find the list I made of the melt in the mouth foods of what I could get her - or told other people to buy her as a treat.
If he smiles when he gets the flowers, how about a DVD of a gardening programme- or if there is such a thing a DVD of a walk round a garden with close ups of flowers....(a bit like those films of fishtanks!!)
Or how about an invitation for him to go with you to a Garden Centre/ RHS place/stately Home Garden/National Trust Property? to see/touch/smell the flowers - or a sensory garden somewhere?
Is he interested in birds? If so, and the nursing home will allow it, maybe a window bird feeder, the type that sticks on the outside of the glass with suction pads? RSPB have them online.
