On the 12th September 2020, we celebrated one of our valued clients 94th birthday at home with her daughter, granddaughter, 2 great-grandsons and her carers and nurses!
We were so excited and honoured to be apart of this special day this milestone Thelma had reached. We wanted to learn more from Thelma about her life for the last 94 years.
Thelma had a lovely day and was overwhelmed by all of the beautiful birthday cards, phone calls and flowers that she received. In total there were 32 cards and 7 bunches of flowers!
Thelma was born in Shanghai, China in 1926. Her father was a police officer who worked his way up to be the Warden of Shanghai Municipal Prison which at the time, was the largest prison in the world.
At that time, Shanghai was a very vibrant, bustling metropolis, often referred to as the Paris of the East.
At the onset of WWII, after the Indo Chinese troubles in China, Thelma and her family relocated to Australia. Her father had been a soldier in WWI and fought at the Somme, France, where he was injured and he wanted to move his family to where he thought they would be safer than Europe, so that’s how the choice to move to Australia came about.
The move to Australia and life here was very different to life in Shanghai.
After WII, Thelma met and married Jack, a young good-looking soldier who had fought in New Guinea along the Kokoda Track.
Jack and Thelma had one child.
Thelma has always been a busy and industrious woman which has been reflected throughout her life. Despite working full time, Thelma always found time to contribute to her community and has always been involved in activities that help people. Her efforts and contributions have been recognised by Fairfield City Council. She was Senior Citizen of the year (in the 1980s) and has many other awards, too many to mention.
So, celebrating Thelmas 94th Birthday was a privilege.
Thelma had a beautiful cake that was made up of cupcakes so that all of her lovely nurses and carers could be included in her special day. There were just enough cupcakes for each person to have one!
Happy snaps of the birthday girl!
A message from Thelma’s daughter:
“Vital Home Health Services provide wonderful care for Mum, and thanks to DVA Services, she is able to be cared for in her own home. As a very small family, we acknowledge thanks to Vital Home Health Care Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs and of course to Dear Jack who saw active service as a very young man”
