story
Joyce, 86 yrs
Mar 5th 2023“When I was young, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to represent Canada with 10 other girl guides in Sweden, where I met Lady Powell, the founder of the Girl Guide movement. She said something that really stuck with me – 'happiness comes not from what we have, but from what we give and what we share'. This quote has been a guiding light for me throughout my lifetime - I have been able to give back to the world with some of my expertise, and that’s the joy. Everybody has expertise and they can do what works for them – mine happens to be healthcare, so I worked with the World Health Organization, where I hosted information sessions. It was so rewarding when people told me that they used the skills they learned from the sessions in their own organization or personal lives. That’s what I love about helping people – the knowledge continues to get passed on to someone else. No matter what your age, you can give back to the community.
When I was in Panama in my late 70s, I co-founded the free hospice and respite program. The program was to help Panamanians work through the health care system. A lot of people were grateful for the support they received through this program, as it was difficult for people to navigate the health system, especially when people grew older. It was an extra challenge because the resources we have in Canada and the US were not available in Panama.
I currently volunteer with the Durham Ontario Health Team. I was with them ever since its inception 4 years ago. I’m a strong advocate for healthcare and providing support for everyone in the community. I’m blessed to be a part of this organization because it keeps my mind alert and engaged. I am also an advocate for breast cancer because I’m a survivor. I volunteer at the hospital daily, setting up booths about breast cancer to provide women with the resources and support they need.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, I have managed a cancer clinic, so I knew all about cancer. When I got the diagnosis of stage 3 cancer with lymph node involvement, I knew it was serious. It was devastating, but I just carried on, did what I wanted to do. I’m doing well now, it’s been 6 years. It made me think about every day being important because you just don’t know when that diagnosis can turn. I recently fell and fractured my pelvis and had to be in the hospital for that, and that wasn’t a good time. These things happen but you have to keep going. It’s the waves going in, waves going out. It’s the ebb and flow of life; sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not so good.
When I’m not feeling good, I play the happy song. I get up and dance and get my muscles going. If you listen to it, you can’t help but be happier at the end. It’s things like this that change your mood, atmosphere, and energy. You also need a good support system. To me, the essence of life is meeting people, forming friendships, and gaining knowledge from their life stories. It’s one way of keeping yourself active when you’re older. I happen to be blind in one eye and cannot drive anymore, so I rely a lot on Uber drivers – but I have the greatest conversations with them. Your friends are your lifeline – it is essential for aging. Try to form friendships with people of various ages, so you’re able to learn what’s happening in their generation. Don’t stay at home – make the effort to contact people. Some days you need it, some days you don’t.
It’s a good idea to do a body scan frequently. Ask yourself, ‘how am I feeling? What do I need to do?’ There are a lot of resources now that we didn’t have years ago. I scrubbed in to the first open heart surgery in Canada, it was exciting. The heart lung machine was the size of my living room and now it’s the size of a carry-on suitcase, so things have changed so much. At that time, there was no such things as ICUs. We’re lucky we get to age with the medical care we have now.”
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