Continuing on with the theme of positive ageing, I would like to tell you about a person who I believe to be a classic example of this. His name is Doug Sunderland and he is a truly inspirational older person, down to earth Ausiie and no fuss crusader of life! Doug suffered the loss of his wife and was also diagnosed with prostate cancer. These events had him feeling pretty down and his doctor suggested that he "get on his bike" as there was no guarantee that he would be around too long. Having been a motor cycle enthusiast all his life, Doug decided to hit the road. He travelled to numerous countries and rode his bike in many locations. Doug was recently featured on ABC Television's Australian Story program, which manily focused on his most recent ride. What Doug refers to as chucking another lap of Australia. At age 85 he took off on his bike, solo around Australia, sleeping rough on the side of the road and eating canned food.
Before he left on this incredible journey, he befriended a young man named Kristopher Growcott. Kris was concerned about Doug going off on this long journey that covered many isolated places. He also knew that Doug was prone to not eating and Kris would rather that he slept comfortably and safely along the way, particularly at his age. Kris created a facebook page called Cavalry of One and it soon had many fans, many of them motorcycling enthusiasts.Todat the page has 4578 "likes". The word soon spread about Doug and his adventure and many people in numerous locations around Australia offered Doug a room for the night and a nourishing meal.
Doug, being a man of simple needs could not understand what all the fuss was about and failed to see why people would put up a total stranger in their homes. He didn't really care for all the fuss and bother to begin with but he phoned his friend Kris daily to update him on his whereabouts and adventures and Kris in turn updated the facebook page. On the last leg of the journey Kris rode to meet Doug and accompany him home to the end of his trip.
I invite you to check out the Australian Story program to view the whole story and I am sure you will agree that Doug Sunderland is a special older person with a very positive attitude to his life and is getting on with his life despite his loss and health problems. I must also mention that his friend Kris is also an inspirational young man. Check out these links.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/CavalryofOne
www.abc.net.au/austory/
About Me
- Jordanna Zareb
- I have been working in the aged care industry for thirty years and have gathered a lot of information on the topic in that time. Some things I have learned through formal training by underatking accredited courses, some has been learned through experience and other things I have simply questioned whilst observing clients. Many questions remain unanswered. I have had the privledge of training others in aged care courses and have gathered immense knowledge from this process too. Over the years I have seen many changes in the aged care industry including care standards, government funding models and ultimately schools of thought on the right and wrong way to do things. I have been left with no choice but to grow and change with the industry.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good for Doug. I am sixty and my husband is in his early seventies. I worry about when I am really old. I should take the example of people like Doug.
ReplyDeletePS You are doing a great job !!!
Thanks Munir, I am sure that you could take a leaf out of Dougs book and start planning the ride of your life too! Whatever that may be for you... Please keep us posted with your plans.:)
ReplyDelete