Here at Cavendish Park, we are always looking for those ‘Just For Me’ moments. We believe that our residents should be able to live fulfilling and purposeful lives, enabling them to continue doing the things that are important to them.

We had the perfect opportunity to make a wish come true for our beautiful resident Sheila. Through spending quality time with Sheila and her family and the use of our unique Life Story books, we knew that Sheila had a dream.

During a long career as a swimming coach in her home town of Huntingdon, Sheila coached 100’s of children to county level, giving many children an opportunity to excel in their chosen sport. She was even presented with a Local Hero Award, something which Sheila and her family are enormously proud of.

But it had been 12 years since Sheila last got into the water. Our amazing Activities Coordinator Julie wanted to change that. After many conversations about Sheila’s career, Julie knew that more than anything, Sheila wanted to swim again! So we made it happen.

Our local pool in Chipping Campden agreed to lane off the pool at a quiet time so we would have half the pool to ourselves. After packing her kit and limbering up, we set off in the mini-bus for the pool, slightly nervous but excited!

We met Sheila’s daughter poolside and after a few deep breaths, Julie and Sheila carefully stepped into the pool. It was a nervous moment, how would it feel after 12 years out of the water?! A few kicks at the side of the pool to get those muscles warmed up and Sheila was away! Breast stroke, front crawl and backstroke, effortless and beautiful to watch. Sheila’s daughter cried happy tears of pride!

After 20 minutes in the pool Sheila exclaimed that ‘It was wonderful’ and gave a big thumbs up! She was then awarded with another special trophy before we headed back to Cavendish Park for hot chocolate and cake, the staple after swim treat! When we arrived home Sheila said “Thank you so, so much. I never thought I would swim again, I am so happy.”