When our care teams look after patients, they get to know them on a personal level, understanding their interests and learning about their backgrounds, to make sure the care they receive is personalised and unique to them.
When Health Care Assistant Lynn Collins got to know Pam Appleby when visiting as part of our community team, she learnt of her lifelong love of horses and started thinking of how she could give Pam some special lasting memories to help brighten her days.
What resulted was a visit from two Miniature ponies from Dartmoor Carriages called Peanut and Wizzle to Pam’s front garden this week.
Lynn said: “Pam had horses right up until ten years ago. She was an avid rider, with everything in her head relating to horses, she absolutely adores them.”
Here at St Luke’s our care goes beyond the hands-on medical side. We want to give the people we care for the chance to have experiences they will always remember, making their last months, weeks and days memorable. Lynn explained how after speaking to our Turnchapel team who have previously had the ponies visit patients at our specialist unit, suggested to contact Dartmoor Carriages to see if they could help.
Lynn spoke to Charlotte from Dartmoor Carriages and arranged for her to pay Pam a visit at home. Charlotte was eager to help and spent time speaking to Pam on the phone ahead of the visit.
Not only was this to be a special occasion for Pam meeting the horses, but it was also the first time Pam had been outside since December 2023. Unsure of whether she would even be able to get outside of her house, Pam was helped by her best friend and niece, who had brought along a wheelchair for her.
Lynn said: “They managed to get her out in the wheelchair, in front of the flat, on the grass. And Pam just cried. She hadn’t been out of the house for so long. And then, of course, the ponies turned up, and a dog. The two things that she loves the most, she was just in her element.
“Charlotte from Dartmoor Carriages was absolutely amazing. And because she knew that she was a horsey lady, they were able to converse about horses and different kinds of horses. It was amazing.
“For me, that is the best part of the job. It’s what makes me come in every day and do this job, just to watch when she got to cuddle those horses, when she got to smell them. To me, if she had died that night, I know that she would have died happy.
“She’s been very anxious for the last six months or so, but yesterday was the happiest I’ve ever seen her.
“That is the best thing about my job, making these things happen. It’s just wonderful. It makes my heart sing.”
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