Grace's Wish
Resident's wish to meet Oprah
Thursday September 4, 2003 Natalie Miller
Up until now, the wishes slipped into the wooden well at Pleasant Meadow Manor haven’t taken too much make-believe to come true.

But up until now, no one has made a wish to meet the world’s most famous talk show host and inspirational icon. Grace Patterson wants to meet Oprah.

Chris Charlebois, life enrichment supervisor at the Norwood long-term care home, says she has her work cut out for her. Since starting the Wish Upon a Star program at the home almost a year ago, staff have granted seven wishes for the 60 residents who call Pleasant Meadow home.

They’ve brought family members together for reunions, organized elaborate dinners, co-ordinated a shopping spree and fulfilled a resident’s dream of being a nurse for a day. They also whisked resident Chris Jones off to a Peterborough Petes hockey game, where he offered some coaching advice to the Ontario Hockey League team.

On Aug. 23, Chris Charlebois emailed and sent a letter to the Oprah show. She introduced Grace, spoke about the Wish Upon a Star program and requested a reply.

“Our latest wish that has been picked is from a lady named Grace. Her wish is to meet you,” Chris writes.

“She watches your show faithfully every day and will not attend our programs during this time. She has stated that she would just love to meet you. Being from a small town (Norwood, Ontario) this is one wish we require a great deal of assistance with,” Chris adds.

The life enrichment supervisor, who was behind the Wish Upon a Star program explains that the program grants residents their last wishes, just as the Children’s Wish Foundation does. Chris and another staff member arranged for a local community member to make a wooden wishing well. Residents themselves can make known their wishes by writing them on slips of paper and putting them in the well. But staff members and family members may also suggest wishes they think residents would like to see fulfilled. Employees fundraise through raffles, an annual walk-a-thon and a variety of other activities to pay for the granting of wishes.

Following her email, Chris received a response three days later informing her the correspondence had made its way to the show. A personal response, the email explained, may be received at a later date.

“It may be a hard (wish) to fulfill,” says Chris. She notes staff has not told Grace her wish has been selected because they don’t want to create excitement if the wish doesn’t pan out. “She knows her wish was in the wishing well, but she doesn’t know it was chosen,” says Chris. Chris has asked for a response by Sept. 12 because in long-term care, health status can change rapidly.

To date, Pleasant Meadow Manor is the only home with the Wish Upon a Star program. Chris was recently approached by home office for some details about the initiative for other homes. “It has been brought up,” says Chris. “I know there are a lot of homes interested in getting it started. It has been great here for staff morale and resident morale. It gives everyone something to look forward to.”