Garstang care home brings resident’s spiritual wish to life

A resident at a Garstang care home made a call to the other side when her wish to connect with the spiritual world was made a reality.

When the team at Care UK’s Meadow Croft, on Garstang Bypass Road, heard about 65-year-old resident Delia Harper’s wish to have a spiritual experience, they set about bringing the idea to life. 

Team members arranged for a medium, Michelle Car, to visit the home for a special evening, including palm reading and tarot card sessions. 

Delia was one of the first to have her palm read. With the scene set for spiritual communication using dimmed lighting and incense sticks, Michelle interpreted the cards and shared insights into Delia’s past, present and future, highlighting her strength and resilience despite life’s challenges, and the sense of peace and wellbeing she now enjoys.

The medium also identified the presence of a gentleman spirit and said she could picture a teddy bear within the reading, which Delia recognised as being connected to her loved ones.

Delia has always been a spiritual person and had an experience with a medium over 10 years ago, however, she did not have any departed loved ones she had wanted to connect with at the time. She remained interested in spirituality over the years, and after losing her beloved husband last year, shared her wish with the team at Meadow Croft to repeat the experience in the hopes of reconnecting with him. 

Delia said: “It was an amazing experience and the best day of my life. I felt so happy, calm and relieved after the session, and I loved speaking about it with team members afterwards. I only wish I could redo it all over again!” 

The special experience was part of Care UK’s Wishing Tree initiative, which encourages residents to put their dreams forward, allowing them to reconnect with a past career or try something completely new. From flying a plane to enjoying a fish and chip supper, no wish is too big or small for the team to try to grant.

Ensuring all residents at Meadow Cross could get involved, there was also a group session with Michelle. Four other residents, a mix of spirituality sceptics and believers, took part in tarot card readings, followed by an open discussion with residents, relatives and team members – allowing them to reflect and engage with one another about the experience. 

Diane Leeming, Home Manager at Meadow Croft, said: “We knew just how excited Delia was for this experience – she’d been speaking about it for weeks! It was lovely to be able to organise this special wish for her and a little emotional to see how much the experience meant to her.

“Our Wishing Tree initiative is a wonderful way for residents to share their passions and ambitions, and it’s hugely rewarding to be able to make these a reality. We’d like to thank medium Michelle Car for helping to create such a memorable experience.”

Meadow Croft is a state-of-the-art care home that provides residential and dementia care on a permanent and respite basis. Designed to enable residents to lead active and fulfilling lives, the care home also offers its very own café, cinema room and hair salon as well as plenty of space for relaxation and recreation.