Last night my dad passed away
His in-home aide came for 6 hours, 6 days a week. She always made his day brighter. She always made him happy. She made his final months the happiest he had seen in years. She often gave her own time to help him when he needed. She is an angel.
I want to do something for her. I do not mean a cash tip (too crass). Nothing I could do would really come close to what she did for Dad.....but, I want her to have something special to remember him, and to thank her for the gift of happiness she gave him.
I was digging in that box today to find his discharge papers (must have them for a burial at the veterans cemetery). I found that necklace. I asked Mom about it. She said she could not wear silver because of an alergy. I bet Dad would have liked his care giver to have it, mom thinks he would have given it to her long since if he had ever remembered it in there.
Tomorrow I will go and get a gift box from the jeweler. Mom will give it to her at the funeral.
Both caregivers came to the funeral and the cover of the Mass booklet had my Dad's photo, so they have a photo to remember him.
Since my Mom had previous passed, I asked Dad's caregiver what was his favorite shirt since she use to get him dressed in the morning. That was the shirt I was going to take to the funeral home.
When I was downsizing my Dad's Independent Living apartment as he was moving to Memory Care, there was a lamp table that I didn't want for myself so I was going to donate it... one of Dad's caregivers asked if she could have it, and I said yes. I will have to see if the other caregiver wanted anything from his apartment, chances are she won't.
Flowers are always nice, I also like Target gift cards. But I need to get the caregiver's home addresses since they came from a licensed Agency.
If she is private or if it is OK with agency rules, something of monetary value, such as a gift certificate for a restaurant or a popular local store, with a lovely thank-you card she could keep would be thoughtful.
Maybe there will be a chance to honor her at a family gathering. Have her lead the prayer, or...? Is there some nice tchotchke of dad's you can give her?
If she was a private caregiver, I would help cushion the loss of the client with some severance pay. If she is with an agency, I wouldn't do that. I hope that the other things would let her know how much she was appreciated. Maybe you could also mention her in his services. She sounds like she became a member of the family for the time she worked with you.