For Dorothy Wetherell, it was an opportunity to step back in time.
But for the 96-year-old, a two-day visit back to the Alberta community of Canmore, a 45-minute drive west of Calgary, where she lived most of her life also gave her a renewed sense of freedom for a short time from the scheduled lifestyle living at the Chartwell Chatsworth Retirement Residence in Kelowna.
For Caleigh Brown, the lifestyle program manager at the retirement residence, it was an opportunity to fulfill a wish for Wetherell that first arose in a casual conversation three years ago.
91裸聊视频淜elly was working at the desk back then and I heard her say she was going back home to Canmore and right away I said I was familiar with Canmore and would love to go back there one day,91裸聊视频� Wetherell recalled.
91裸聊视频淏ut I never said another word about it. I moved to Williams Lake for a year to be closer to my daughter with the idea we91裸聊视频檇 all move south when she retired, but after a year I moved back here and she91裸聊视频檚 still there.91裸聊视频�
But Brown never forgot that brief conversation and came across an opportunity to see Wetherell91裸聊视频檚 wish come true.
That opportunity was a new initiative launched on Oct. 2, 2022, by the Chartwell Foundation, a national charity established to make dreams come true for seniors.
The foundation was looking to build on a five-year partnership program between Chartwell and Wish of a Lifetime Canada started from 2015 to 2020. While Wish of a Lifetime ceased its Canadian operations, Chartwell has kept the program alive, with a goal to grant as many wishes as possible to seniors annually.
That wish is described as something holding value being a passing desire or casual thought 91裸聊视频� it can be a dream, a lifelong goal or a meaningful component to one91裸聊视频檚 life that has been missing.
91裸聊视频淚 filled out the application for both of us without thinking anything would come of it but it was worth a try,91裸聊视频� Brown recalled.
91裸聊视频淚 told Dorothy not to get her hopes up too much but she got a call a couple of weeks later saying her application was approved. We were both pretty shocked.91裸聊视频�
While the entire trip was organized and paid for by the foundation, from travel insurance to all her vacation expenses, an added benefit was the personal connections Brown has to Canmore, to help her get around and visit different venues in both Canmore and Banff over the two days.
91裸聊视频淚t was sort of being treated like the queen,91裸聊视频� Wetherell laughed.
91裸聊视频淣ever in my life have I had something so simple, so easy. Yes, it was nice to be treated like that.
91裸聊视频淏ut just being around younger people and doing something exciting makes you feel younger.
91裸聊视频淲as free to come and go as I liked, to eat and went out when I wanted. When you do something like this with your family, it is always 91裸聊视频楳om don91裸聊视频檛 do this or don91裸聊视频檛 do that.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淏ut it was like travelling with servants who were being paid to do whatever I wanted.91裸聊视频�
On a family level, Wetherell was able to reconnect with her granddaughter, who she had not seen in some time, and see her great-grandson for the first time.
Beyond family, Wetherell91裸聊视频檚 ties to Canmore run deep. She was born in Banff and settled in Canmore when she got married. She worked as a nurse at the hospital, was the general manager of a seniors91裸聊视频� residence, served on the town council and was named Canmore91裸聊视频檚 Woman of the Year in 1967.
She got to meet the mayor, attend a council meeting, visit the new town hall, visit the seniors91裸聊视频� home she once managed, and sight-see many natural landmarks both in Canmore and Banff.
And a highlight was her first eating stop upon her arrival in Canmore, a trip to McDonald91裸聊视频檚.
91裸聊视频淭he first thing I wanted to eat was a good hamburger. We used to eat a lot at McDonald91裸聊视频檚 because it was a place to have a good hamburger. I was brought up on that91裸聊视频y husband suffered from ulcers so he could not eat spicy type foods, so we ate hamburgers a lot.91裸聊视频�
But while much has changed with the growth of Canmore, the majestic character of the Rocky Mountains remains mesmerizing to her.
91裸聊视频淭he mountains are always there, waiting, even though you know you will never climb them but they are there,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淢y mother-in-law move to Canmore from England and she hated the mountains as she felt always closed in by them.91裸聊视频�
After her whirlwind two-day adventure to Alberta, Wetherell admitted it was tough to go back to her normal lifestyle.
91裸聊视频淵es, it was nice to be treated like that91裸聊视频hat is normal living in a seniors91裸聊视频� home is not normal living to those on the outside,91裸聊视频� she acknowledged.
She also was reminded of the axiom that you can91裸聊视频檛 go home again, that if you try to return to a place from your past it won91裸聊视频檛 be the same as it was, how we remember people and places from our upbringing in static terms.
91裸聊视频淵ou can91裸聊视频檛 go back. Things change. And the oldtimers there absolutely hate it because the change has been so great and dramatic91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Brown said other area resident seniors have had wishes granted by the Chartwell Foundation 91裸聊视频� a Vernon woman got a hot air balloon ride, something she did often with her husband but since his death had not been able to do so; another got to take the gondola ride in Banff.
Brown encourages those interested in making a wish come true for a senior, to follow through the application process outlined at TheChartwellFoundation.ca website.
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