KATHY (Kathleen) Hazell has a heart of gold. For many decades she and her husband Ray gave huge joy to so many people transforming their country Victoria home into Santa Land over Christmas – festooning it with festive lights and turning the front garden into a cross between Santa’s workshop and the North Pole. Kathy, resplendent in a red suit with a full white beard, would rush out to the busloads of people stopping to admire the display – many from aged care homes – and give them home-made miniature plum puddings and lollies. “It was a lot of fun,” she said with a laugh. “We made a lot of people very happy.” Over the years Kathy, 73, also used to make blankets for the Royal Children’s Hospital and do crochet work, much of which she gave to charity and to friends. Even now she’s a firm believer in always lending a hand – even when her own are crippled with arthritis. Just last week she asked Ray, 75, to help her chop up meat and veggies, and cooked a wonderful supper which she put in a container and used her mobility scooter to deliver to an older man a few streets away, whose wife is battling cancer. “I love helping people,” Kathy explains. “A lot of people say to me ‘you put other people before yourself,’ and I tell them ‘that’s the way it’s always been'. "I’m not going to change now.” Both have worked hard all their lives, Kathy in the wool mills and Ray as a plasterer. They fell in love as teenagers, and nearly 55 years, two children and two grandchildren later, are still devoted to each other. Kathy is fiercely determined to continue living in her home of the last 50 years for as long as possible, thanks to the services she receives through her government-funded home care package through Uniting AgeWell. “It’s my home,” she said. “They can carry me out in a box one day! "I never want to leave.” She doesn’t have to. Working closely with Care Advisor Tina Manousaki, Kathy, who has chronic back pain and who underwent spinal surgery after injuring herself, has an electric bed as well as a walker. She used her home care package to buy two mobility scooters – a little fold-away and a bigger one. Safety rails have been fitted, the bathroom has been modified and a ramp installed. She also receives personal care as well as help around the house. “Tina listens to what I need,” said Kathy, “and then somehow makes it all happen.” In the meantime, Kathy and Ray have acquired Milly, an adorable baby poodle, who keeps them very busy. Kathy also enjoys watching television while Ray loves woodwork. “It’s a good life,” says Kathy. “I’m very grateful to Uniting AgeWell for making it so easy for us to stay at home.” To find out more about Uniting AgeWell’s home care support in the Mansfield area contact the local team on (03) 8527 5880.
