Celebration of a life worth living

Here is the video I created for 11/11/11 *One Day On Earth!
Kay will be 95 on December 20th, 2011!


One Day On Earth 11.11.11 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Perth Community Care Centre

This is a visit with my friend, Kay Devlin. She is 95-years-old. She lives in Perth Community Care Centre, with her husband. She is the chair of the Resident Council and attends Family Council meetings.

She writes and recites her poetry and she paints. She has an incredible attitude towards life and I love her!

She receives excellent care in her long-term care. There is always someone there to help her, or her husband. He has Alzheimer's Disease, and sometimes he is 'very much himself', she tells me! She tells a charming story in the video.
 I learned so much about myself and about others. Things I hadn't realized when I was nursing.

About being in long-term care,
"You have to realize it's not the end of your life; it's a part of it."
She was getting extra home support, but caring for her husband began to be too much. They had Meals on Wheels for awhile, but the demands of caring for loved ones with dementia, as we all know, can be overwhelming.

She is quick to let you know that her poetry is inspired by her current life situation, but she doesn't let that limit her mind. Her body has been limited in many ways, with aging.
She recognizes her health issues, and her vision challenges,
She learned to paint at age 75. She writes and recites fabulous poems.

Kay's painting table

*Founded in 2008, One Day on Earth's first media creation event occurred on 10.10.10. The collaboration was the first ever simultaneous filming event occuring in every country of the world. It created a unique geo-tagged video archive as well as an upcoming feature film.