Today Patch found a new home.

My cousin sent me a photo from the dementia ward where her mom lives. Patch was not sitting on the bed like usual. He wasn’t on the chair either.

He was mounted high up on the wall, near the ceiling.

My first reaction was confusion.

“What is Patch doing up there?” I asked.

She laughed and explained.

If Patch is left on the bed, he disappears.

If Patch is placed on a shelf within reach, one of the other residents quietly takes him to their room. Everyone in the ward loves Patch. The teddy bear is simply too tempting.

So the staff and family found a solution.

Patch now lives high up on the wall where everyone can see him, but no one can sneak him away.

He only comes down when it’s time for stories.

Patch began as the teddy bear in my book The Gift. In the story, Patch carries love inside him. Inside the zipper in his chest are messages from the people who care.

Now, in this dementia ward, that story has become real life.

Inside Patch’s tummy are hearts signed by family and friends for a beautiful woman who is slowly slipping away from the life she once knew.

When Patch comes down from the wall, the family takes out the hearts one by one and reads the names and messages aloud.

Each heart is a memory.

Each name is a reminder that she is loved.

She listens carefully as the stories are shared.

And when she has heard enough, she says so.

“That’s enough.”

The hearts are tucked back inside Patch for another day.

Then Patch is lifted back up to his special place on the wall, waiting for the next storytelling moment.

There is something incredibly tender about this.

Outside the ward door there is a message posted for visitors and staff.
It is a simple reminder of what people living with dementia need most.

A teddy bear that began as part of a children’s book has found his way into a dementia ward.

He is no longer just a story character.

He is now a keeper of memories.

A protector of love.

And apparently…

a teddy bear so beloved he has to live near the ceiling so the other residents don’t steal him.

Somewhere in that hospital room today, Patch is sitting high on the wall.

Watching.

Waiting.

Holding hearts full of love for the moments when they are needed most.

And I can’t think of a better place for him to be.