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Mickey. The Musician Who Lifts the Room
Have you ever met someone who can walk into a room and instantly lift it? No effort. No need to impress. Just an aura around them.
Mickey arrives at Lace Hill with a guitar, a microphone and a smile. Before he even starts playing, you can feel the shift in the people who live with us. Ears perk us. Staff begin to gather at the doorway. Families lean in from the corridor. It’s as if the whole home knows what’s about to happen.
The Power of Music in Care Homes
When Mickey sings, the room transforms. He has this rare gift for finding the person in front of him and truly connecting. He sings to people, not at a group of people, as if each voice in the room matters. He always says that when you make eye contact with people, something happens. You can feel the connection.
Some moments will stay with you forever. Like the afternoons when someone who lives with us, who doesn’t communicate much, suddenly they mouth the words to an Elvis Presley classic. Or the days when someone’s had a difficult morning, and you can see them tapping their foot and clapping on beat. The smiles that radiate really transform everyone's mood.
And then there are the moments that are the hardest.
Mickey has been there at the end of people’s lives. In Donald’s final week of his life, Mickey sat on the end of his bed singing the songs he loved. And even then, even in those last few days, Donald still whispered the words to ‘You are my sunshine’.
The Most Rewarding Industry
Mickey will tell you it can be emotionally tough. And it is. There are days that stay with him long after he’s packed away his guitar. But he’ll also tell you it’s the most rewarding thing he’s ever done.
At Lace Hill we know our staff are the heart of the home. But people like Mickey, the unexpected heroes, are the reason that the room feels lighter. And the home feels just a little bit more like home.