Jayda Noyes, Daily Herald
A 101-year-old woman is striving for as much independence as possible, much of which is achieved through a transportation service specifically for those 60 and over.
The Seniors Transportation Program is part of the Prince Albert Community Services Centre.
Its annual campaign, called Two Miles for Mary, is on Friday.
Each year, they pick a different senior to represent their service as ‘Mary.’
This year, it’s Frances Jordan.
She sat in her rocking chair in her room, surrounded by her knitting creations and other crafts.
She’s lived in Saskatchewan for her whole life and currently lives with her daughter in Prince Albert.
Jordan uses the service every Tuesday.
“I go for an assisted bath up at Pineview and I get Seniors Transportation. Now, the reason I do that is my daughter will drive me anywhere, but I want one independent day, and that is my independent day,” she said.
“I change my bed, I get my clothes ready, I watch for the van and they come to the door to get me and then they come back to Pineview to pick me up again and bring me home and open the door to make sure I’m quite secure. That’s a wonderful service. It’s something we really need,” she added.
A ride to and back costs a total of $10, she noted.
On the other hand, she would be left alone some of the time when taking the bus.
“This way, we have care right from door to door,” she said.
Jordan used to live in a care home because of a couple of seizures, but decided she needed a change because “it was getting a little depressing.”
She’s been living with her daughter for over a year and is in great health.
The only pills she takes are multivitamins for her vision and joints.
“Out at the home, I saw some of them take as many as 14 pills before breakfast and then some more at dinnertime, and I certainly don’t need sleeping pills. I sometimes think I need some wakey-up pills because I sleep a lot,” she said with a laugh.
After taking trips to British Columbia and Regina for her 100th birthday in August of last year, Jordan is now hopeful for her 120th.
“My daughter is 20 years younger than me and many years ago she said ‘When I’m 100, you’ll be 120,’ so we’ve got another 19 years to go.”
Seniors Transportation is hosting a Radiothon on Saskatchewan Country CKBI from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
During that time period on Friday, you can call (306) 763-MARY with a pledge to Seniors Transportation.
It operates five days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., recommending customers call about 24 hours in advance to when they need a ride.
“This is what we need because of our disabilities. After all, you can’t get to be 90 or 100 and have the abilities that you have when you’re younger,” said Jordan.
“I really feel quite honoured to be asked to (represent them) and when they phoned me, I didn’t hesitate.”
