Zooming up the stairs

At 100 years old, Lorna hasn’t lost her spark. Here’s the story of a century of life beautifully lived – and the care that helps her keep living it.

It’s a particular kind of joy that fills a room when Lorna laughs. Ask anyone who was there on 22 March – the day she turned into a centenarian, when over 90 people crowded into her home for her celebration.

The house was filled with riotous joviality. Children climbing over each other, great–grandchildren darting between legs, sons watching on with quiet pride – and the woman at the centre of it all – electric.

Among her guests that day were her 2 sons, 4 grandchildren, 12 great–grandchildren, and tucked carefully inside an envelope – a birthday message from King Charles and Queen Camilla, addressed not to ‘Lorna’ but to Leonilde: her name at birth, an Italian name, the one that carries a whole other lifetime with it.

FROM THE HILLS OF EMILIA–ROMAGNA TO THE SHORES OF AUSTRALIA

Lorna’s story begins in 1926 in San Piero, a small town nestled in the Apennines of the Emilia–Romagna region of northern Italy. She grew up immersed in the rhythms of village life: family, community, tradition.

And for the first 3 decades of her existence that life was her whole world. Then came Camillo. Lorna was 29 when she married her sweetheart and husband, Camillo, and not long after, the couple made the bold
decision to leap across the world to Australia, settling in Wollongong, NSW.

For the next 6 decades they would call that coastal city home. Since 2018, Lorna has called Brisbane home now living with her son Joe, her primary carer.

THE STAIR LIFT THAT SAYS IT ALL

There’s a detail in Lorna’s daily life that her son Joe mentions with a grin: the stair lift. Fitted to the staircase of her home through Co.As.It.’s Assistive Technology and Home Modifications pathway (AT–HM), it whisks her from the ground floor to the first floor in moments. Joe calls it ‘zooming’, and Lorna has no objections.

It’s a small thing, maybe, but it’s also everything – because it means Lorna moves through her own home on her own terms. The stair lift sits alongside walking frames, bathroom aids, and therapeutic chairs as part of a carefully assembled ecosystem of support, all government–funded and individually tailored to her needs as they evolve.

Alongside the equipment, a full team visits throughout the week: nurses, physiotherapists, podiatrists, personal carers and domestic assistants. Joe describes the breadth of it with evident relief – the relief that comes from knowing your mother is genuinely cared for.

DIGNITY IS IN THE DETAILS

What strikes you about Lorna’s story isn’t one dramatic moment – it’s the accumulation of small dignities that Co.As.It.’s care makes possible. The ability to sleep in her own bed, wake up in familiar surroundings, answer the door to people she knows and trusts. The pleasure of having a physiotherapist who understands her history, and a carer who knows how she takes her tea.

For a woman who has crossed oceans, built a life from nothing in a new country, raised a family and enjoyed her community, this is exactly the kind of care she deserves. Care that sees the whole person, not just the physical needs.

At 100, Lorna is still laughing, still zooming up the stairs and enjoying her independence and life through her Support at Home (SAH) funding.

Interested in our Support at Home (SAH) services?

If you’d like to learn more about Support at Home (SAH), visit our Support at Home page, call us on 07 3624 6100 or submit an enquiry and one our team members will be in touch.

Eligibility criteria applies.