In April, Nocatee residents Sean Coleman and his son, Gabe, filmed a sentimental video explaining the COVID-19 pandemic to Coleman’s mother, Pat, who has Alzheimer’s and lives in the Starling assisted-living community. After the Starling posted the video to the public, not only did it go viral, it also inspired the staff to partner with Coleman and make a video of their own. But this time, Starling residents are in the spotlight, sending love to their families and radiating positivity throughout Nocatee.
“With my mom, every day is a clean slate,” Coleman said, explaining the daily routine. “Everyday, she’ll ask us why we can’t come over or why we can’t leave the house.”
So as a simple and sweet reminder, Coleman and Gabe came up with the idea to create a video.
Inspired by the 2003 film, ‘Love Actually,’ where a character uses cue cards to express his feelings to a loved one, Coleman filmed his son standing outside his grandma’s window, holding cue cards that explained the coronavirus and why they were stuck outside, along with how much they care for her, no matter the distance.
The father-son duo then traced their hands on the outside of Pat’s window with markers, then switched to chalk art on the sidewalk to write the message, “Pat, we love you!,” written in bold and vibrant colors.
It wasn’t long before the video received over 45,000 views on the Starling’s official Facebook page and was even featured on First Coast News.
“It’s also on her phone for whenever she needs it,” Coleman said. “It’s a bittersweet reminder, but at the same time, at least it has me and her grandson there. She can see herself in the video and she recognizes my son, and thankfully still (recognizes) me.”
Weeks later, Starling’s memory care director Kelly McCartney asked Coleman if he’d help film a second video. This time, the Starling residents who would be the ones spreading positivity and sending the love back out.
“I know a lot of folks in there and they’re such sweet people,” Coleman said about being approached. “So I said of course I’d love to.”
Filmed last weekend, Coleman’s “sequel,” featured Starling residents preparing for Mother’s Day family visits by decorating the facility, making signs for windows and writing messages of hope and love.
Paper hearts floated along the first-floor windows and a giant “We wish you were here” sign jumped out boldly from the top floors near the main entrance.
On Mother’s Day afternoon, Coleman and his son stopped by again, but this time, to spend the afternoon with Pat.
“My mom’s relatively new to all this. She’s only been like this for a few years,” Coleman explained. “It’s been really hard. Every day is a clean slate. She says, ‘Hey son, when are you coming over?,’ even though I was just there. Gabe comes with me all the time.”
When Coleman’s first video was posted, he mentioned that many tears were shed from people that related to his story.
“It’s kind of a strange thing, but it took off unexpectedly and it felt good that there were a lot of people that related to this,” he said. “It’s just another nice message during trying times. That was the whole idea. And it was born out of the video I did with my mom.”
