Anything is possible, at any age!
Ms Rogers and Ms Couttoupes
At 89, Joyce Rogers had never travelled overseas and seemed to have lost her energy to achieve her dream when she entered aged care. She is a resident at Woodfield Lodge, a low care facility in Sydney’s Inner Western suburb of Haberfield.
“It seemed like travelling was something too difficult to do. As a teenager I read lots of books about Paris and started learning French,” she said.
It was during Seniors Week in March that Joyce’s daughter, Kathryn Couttoupes, realised that travelling to Paris wasn’t impossible after all. Ms Rogers attended the annual seniors ball hosted by UnitingCare Ageing Sydney Region, celebrating the contribution and worth of older people. With over 750 guests, the theme this year was The Circus is Coming to Town.
“When I saw mum driving a dodgem car, she was so happy!” said Ms Couttoupes who couldn’t believe how much fun her mother was having with such energy and enthusiasm.
With the journey ahead, Ms Rogers said, “Security issues held me back, I thought about leaving my home, leaving my GP. But the anxiety soon subsided when I was greeted with a glass of champagne as soon as I boarded the plane”.
She travelled business class and said, “I’m a born traveller. I can’t do it any other way. The steward took me to the cabin where the pilot and co-pilot were – I could see the heavens!
“I’m going to write a book about seeing Paris in a wheelchair. It was great to get around,” said Ms Rogers.
“Except for the cobblestones,” interjected Ms Couttoupes.
“Cobblestones? I’ll take the cobblestones as long as we go back!” Ms Rogers continued, “I had special treatment at the Louvre: front position by the Mona Lisa! And our taxi driver stopped the car on the roundabout at the Champs-Élysées so I could take photos at the Arc de Triomphe.”
Ms Rogers now plans to go to Egypt, “and ride a camel”, she says.
