Happy Friday! And welcome to another Feel-Good Friday celebration story. As you learned last week, August is my birthday month and the anniversary of my marriage. Last weekend I celebrated me, so this weekend is all about celebrating us and our 18 years. My husband, Lynn, and I were in our 40s when we married, and it was the first time for both of us. Personally, I think finding true love for the first time in the latter half of your life is so much richer and gives you a different perspective, not just about marriage, but what is truly important in life. So, this story about a 62-year-old woman who is embarking on her first marriage, and the gifts from her co-workers and others to celebrate her momentous occasion, is worthy of the Feel-Good Friday treatment.
Read it Here: Feel-Good Friday: Bride Who Grew Up Without a Father Gets an Unlikely Friend to Walk Her Down the Aisle
Sheila Williams has worked as a housekeeper at AdventHealth in Winter Park, Florida, for more than seven years. As she told Tiffany Cahill for the company publication, “Advent News and Stories,” Williams loves her job. “I’m a housekeeper, but I’m a good housekeeper. It’s not just about doing my job – it’s about interacting with our patients.”
This is a woman who not only does her work with care and gratitude, but she also cares about those around her. Williams had moved to the Labor and Delivery unit less than a month ago, but she made an immediate impression on her co-workers. Her work ethic, along with her beautiful spirit and disposition, elicited the embrace of everyone around her. Unit nurses Hannah Heisdorf and Cayla Lightbody said, “We love Ms. Sheila. She is such a joy to us on our unit. She comes in every single day with a smiling face. We are very blessed to have her.”
So, when they found out that Williams was getting married, they wanted to give her something to celebrate this “monumental moment in her life.” In two days, these ladies pulled together a surprise bridal shower for Williams. Even nurses who were not scheduled to come in to work that day ventured out in order to be a part of the merriment.
Team members on the labor and delivery unit at AdventHealth Winter Park came together to create a moment of pure joy for one of their own. When Sheila Williams, a beloved housekeeper on the unit, shared she was getting married, a group of nurses quickly sprang into action, surprising her with a heartfelt bridal shower right in one of the patient rooms she helps care for every day.
Nurse Hannah Heisdorf captured the moment on video and posted it to her TikTok account.
WATCH:
Our sweet housekeeper, Sheila, is getting married on Friday. She has never been married before and has found the love of her life at age 62. We threw her a surprise bridal shower and she instantly walked into the room in tears. She told us that “nobody has ever thrown me a party before” & she “was so excited to tell her friends”. We are trying to raise money to send her on a honeymoon! Let’s make this the best surprise of her life!! She is the most deserving person ever.
That is quite incredible. Not only did the nurses make a concerted effort to honor Williams with a lovely send-off, but they also wanted her to have a nice honeymoon. So, in her video, Heisdorf asked for donations toward it! As TikTok videos are wont to do, this one went viral, garnering six million views and over one million likes. But here’s the kicker: Corporations like Hilton Hotels, Delta Airlines, and Tarte Cosmetics saw the video and offered gifts and donations to help Sheila and her soon-to-be husband celebrate.
Sheila married her now-husband, Terry, in late July in Orlando and spent her wedding weekend on a boat in Tampa. But thanks to the donations from Hilton and Delta Airlines, Williams and her Terry also received a BIG Honeymoon trip to New York City.
“I’m so excited. I never thought this would happen,” Williams said. “I’m 62 years old and have never been anywhere. I’ve been in Florida all my life. Hilton offered me a trip, and Terry and I are going to New York City! I’ve always wanted to go to Manhattan.”
What a dream-come-true for Williams on so many levels, and what well-deserved gifts all around. Writer Tiffany Cahill asked Heisdorf and Lightbody why they thought this lovely tale struck such a chord with so many. They said, “A lot of the feedback we’re getting is that people are finding hope again in humanity. Just to see people care and give to others.”
Prioritizing things that matter. It wasn’t about the gifts or a huge event; it was about giving homage to the love, compassion, and focused care Sheila Williams embodies and emits to everyone around her. Williams’ work ethic and words show that she loves and cares for the AdventHealth patients and her coworkers. So, it is a beautiful thing that this could be returned to her in such meaningful ways.
As it should be.
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