Horses visit a longtime friend at Surrey Memorial Hospital
Volunteers bring smiles to patients through What Matters To You wish week
ShelleyLynn Gardner didn’t take ‘neigh’ for an answer once she had made up her mind she was going to grant a patient’s wish.
Gardner is a rehab assistant at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and volunteers with the engagement radicals team, or “e-rads” as she calls it.
“That’s a group of folks who, off the side of their desk, work to change the culture and really increase engagement in the workplace,” said Gardner. “But I like to do things a little bit bigger, a step above, so I started thinking, ‘What if we granted wishes?’ ”
The team had been encouraging hospital staff to ask their patients, “What matters to you?” in an effort to facilitate more meaningful relationships. To take it a bit further, Gardner began collecting responses and drawing inspiration for wishes the e-rad team might be able to grant to patients.
Some discussed family and life, while others simply longed for a favourite meal they hadn’t enjoyed in awhile.
Another patient, Jim Clarkson, 70, spoke non-stop of how much he loved horses. The ball cap he wears frequently features an embroidered picture of horses, and a horse-themed calendar hangs in his hospital room.
Upon chatting with Clarkson’s daughter, Tracey Clarkson, Gardner learned that Clarkson had volunteered with the Pacific Riding for Developing Abilities association for more than two decades. The association runs a therapeutic riding centre in South Langley, where those with various disabilities can spend time with horses and learn to ride.
Gardner got in touch with PRDA last week and let them know the hospital was willing to set up an outdoor space where Clarkson could receive a visit, if the PRDA was willing to bring out a few equine special guests. The answer was an enthusiastic ‘yes,’ said Gardner.
“I was like, ‘Holy smokes. This is really going to happen,’ ” she said.
Gardner then got the logistics rolling: she requested a section of the parking lot be roped off, let the family know, and tricked Clarkson into thinking his expected visitors were a group of therapy dogs.
On Tuesday, Gardner accompanied Clarkson as his bed was rolled out of his room and down to the parking lot. Half way down the parking lot ramp, Gardner stopped Clarkson’s bed.
“I said, ‘Jim, I’m really sorry, but I lied to you.’ I said, ‘I don’t have dogs for you, but I do have someone special,’ ” Gardner recalled.
The staff then turned Clarkson’s bed toward the parking lot, and he was able to see friends from PRDA, members of his family, and finally, Alex and Dodger, two horses he had worked with previously.
“He was just awestruck for a moment,” said Gardner. “You could see the tears kind of start. His daughter started crying, his whole family was crying and people from the organization were crying. He had such a sense of peace and calm, and you could tell he was so connected with the horses.”
Tracey Clarkson said her dad was surprised and overwhelmed. He has been in the hospital for five months, has had three surgeries and during that time he hadn’t been outside.
“This was exactly what he needed,” she said. “We were all so happy to see my dad happy again. It had been a long haul for him. For as long as I can remember my dad has adored horses, they make him happy.
“My heart was filled with such gratitude to ShelleyLynn and her team for making this happen. The staff at Surrey Memorial have been so great to my father and me in this very, very difficult time.”
Gardner now hopes to host a What Matters To You wish week twice a year at the hospital. She said often small gestures can help patients regain a sense of identity.
“Nobody asked for anything crazy or unrealistic. A lot of it was just small things that made a difference,” she said.
I like to do things a little bit bigger, a step above, so I started thinking, ‘What if we granted wishes?’