Strachan House Care Home resident, Bill Lathe had dreamed of being able to garden again so staffed teamed up with a local boy Struan Dow who helped Bill out with his wish to make it come true.
Bill has lived at Strachan House for several years and is oved by staff and residents alike. Staff and Struan were delighted to be a part of making his dream come true, as they knew how much it meant to him and they all wanted to be there to see the smile on Bills face.
Staff first found out about Bills wish through their active activities program. Mandy, Head of Activities, said “Bill has always had a love of gardening and when we were a contacted about a local boy Struan needing to complete his JASS project it made sense to pair the two up by surprising Bill.”
JASS is the junior programme for the Duke of Edinburgh awards and Struan needed to undertake his silver award. This meant he was tasked with having to complete a 12 hour project. A student in class 6HD at Erskine Stewart Melville School, meant that Struan gave up his Easter break to work on the project.
He said: “When I heard of Bill’s wish I knew I could combine my project with his wish, so I decided to spring into action and build Bill an accessible herb garden box and present it to him within the gardens at Strachan House.
“I was so happy to see Bill’s face and was so happy to be part of something special for him. To know that my herb box will be appreciated and go to good use is awesome!”
Mandy Head of Activities added “What and amazing young lad Struan is and he should be proud of his hard work. Bill is over the moon!”
In response to this wonderful surprise, Bill said: “I was overwhelmed. It is such an amazing feeling to know that the youngsters still look out for us and care so much.
“I’m really grateful to Struan and the team for making my wish come true. I can’t wait to get planting my herbs for the use in the kitchen”
Gordon Philp, General Manager at the home, said: “We want everyone we care for to know how important they are to us here at Strachan House. It was so nice to see how happy Bill was and the staff loved being a part of this as well.”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals.
Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
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