Alzheimer’s Patients Enjoy Receiving Mail

Nursing home residents and Alzheimer’s patients often don’t receive mail even though they would like to be remembered at mail time.  Those in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s, when they still can comprehend, do enjoy letters, postcards, and cards.  

My mom, when she had Alzheimer’s and resided in a nursing home, enjoyed looking at cards and notes.  She also collected cards from other residents and thought they’d been sent to her!  We read them together and then returned the cards.   

In a recent article, “Letters Welcomed by Nursing Home Residents,” that I wrote for Inky Trail News, a print publication, I related my experiences about writing to nursing home residents,  This started many years ago, when I realized how much my letters and poetry meant to an elderly relative.  Upon his death, his sister wrote and told me how much the letters cheered her brother.

My mom also acquired a pen pal, although Mother couldn’t write her back.  Phyllis was a teacher who wrote to teachers in nursing homes.  Until Mother’s death, the cards came from Phyllis every holiday, birthday, and special occasion.  Although Mother didn’t know Phyllis, she would ask me to read them and was pleased someone in her career field took time to remember her.

Since the Inky Trail News article appeared, I’ve had inquiries from readers who were touched by it and wondered how they could bring cheer to nursing home residents this way.  Contact a nursing home near you and see if they can arrange a pen pal group…or suggest someone you could “adopt.” 

Sometimes you can make cards for your nursing home pen pal.  If the Alzheimer’s patients are still adept enough, you might volunteer to help them make cards and write notes for special occasions.