As a nurse, Paige Meyer felt putting bibs on adults to feed them was degrading and led to a loss of dignity among patients.
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And as a grand-daughter who watched her nan deteriorate with dementia and emphysema and need to wear a bib for eating, she realised how hard it was for family members to see their loved-one struggling and wearing a traditional bib.
So she decided to do something about it and create dignity bibs - bibs that look like clothing to give some dignity back to the wearers.
"Dignity bibs are designed to protect clothing from meal time mishaps while providing dignity by not looking like a bib," she said.
Ms Meyer rediscovered her love of sewing during last year's COVID lockdowns and after seeing a pattern for the dignity bibs online she modified it and set herself a goal - to make 50 bibs a month during 2021 and donate them to local nursing homes and special schools.
"Our dignity bibs are designed and made by a nurse to help ease of use by both consumer and nurse," Ms Meyer said. "As a nurse my aim is to promote dignity to all of my patients and believe this is just one way I can help.
"I've just finished my nursing degree and through nursing and learning to nurse and working as a nurse, it's all about promoting dignity wherever you can ... but the big gap I always found and had trouble with was putting bibs on adults and them losing their sense of dignity as soon as you put a bib on them."
The dignity bibs transform op-shop shirts in to bibs that look like clothing. "They use the front panel of a button-up shirt and once placed on top of the clothing, they just look like clothing. It's less confronting for family as well because it looks like normal clothes."
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People with poor motor control such as those with advanced dementia, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses and disabilities that impact movement will benefit from the dignity bibs.
Ms Meyer has made about 15 dignity bibs so far this month with the help of her mum and 13-year-old sister. "Watching nan ... was a particularly big eye opener for the fact that as a family member it was hard to see. As a nurse it's hard not being able to do anything but as a family member it's hard seeing it," she said.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help raise funds to support the goal of donating 600 bibs during 2021.