Envigor client Barbara demonstrated what it’s like to live life Envigorated when at the age of 92, she hopped on her son Stan’s trike for a ride at a family gathering.
This spirit of adventure is something that has been a theme in Barbara’s life. Barbara came out to Australia from England when she was in her twenties and after meeting and marrying her husband spent the next 50 years living on a cane farm just outside Bundaberg.
According to her daughter Helen, the youngest of Barbara’s three children, Barbara has always been a social person who enjoyed contributing to her local community.
“She was involved for many years in CWA, especially with handcrafts. She used to do many crafts like hardanger embroidery, cross stitch, knitting and crochet, but with most of her vision gone due to macular degeneration, these days she does mostly knitting, cause she can do it pretty much by feel alone,” says Helen.
“One of the best words that could describe mum is resilient. She has had many hardships and challenges in her life, but somehow manages to always come through.”
Some of these hardships have included recent health issues that almost saw Barbara moving from her home in the Lakes Retirement Village into residential aged care.
“She had a number of health issues, including falls and fractures, and we were considering nursing home placement prior to her home care package becoming available.
“She’s on a level 4 home care package and receives hygiene assistance, social care and home care. The care that Envigor have supplied has been a godsend. It’s made a huge difference to her life, and mine.”
After seeing the great care her mum was receiving Helen has also joined the Envigor Bundaberg family as a registered nurse.
“I started working for Envigor in November 2018 and am quite new to aged and community care. It’s been a steep learning curve, but I’m getting the hang of things slowly!”
Envigor Business Partner for Bundaberg Julie McDonald says that seeing the photo of Barbara out and about on the trike brought a smile to her face.
“It is great to see that with all our support and care they can still get out and do whatever they want even at 92,” says Julie.