For most of us, the idea of working in old age is pretty daunting. But how about being 105 years old and bustling around a hospital helping out sick patients? That’s exactly what World War II veteran Charles Carroll does, and you’ll never hear him complain about it.
After suffering a heart attack in his nineties, Carroll began spending two days a week volunteering at Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Florida — the same hospital that took care of him after his illness.
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“At my age, I just feel that it’s important to do as much as I can for the people my age,” Carroll told Stitch.
“I enjoy stopping by a bed and talking to a person,” he added.
The wonderfully compassionate man credits his long life with keeping active and having a good time: “Enjoying everything that you do, liking people. I just enjoyed life, that’s all,” he said.
105-year-old Hospital Volunteer
"At my age, I just feel that it's important to do as much as I can for the people my age."
Posted by Stitch on Monday, July 2, 2018
“You, sir, are an inspiration to us all,” commented one person on Facebook.
According to CNN, as of 2014 there were upwards of 70,000 Americans who had celebrated their 100th birthdays. And this war vet has no intention of throwing in the towel any time soon.
“I’m gonna go as long as I can go,” Carroll told Palm Beach Post last year.
“It’s totally amazing,” said Carroll’s daughter, Judith Stern, of her stoic dad. “He’s almost a member of the staff here.”
She recalled the hilarious moment she called the staff at Delray to ask if her elderly father could take up a voluntary position.
“[I] picked up the phone and said ‘My dad would like to (be) a volunteer. And he’s 95.’ There was a silence on the phone,” she recalled. “We all make judgments.”
Now, however, there is not one member of staff who doesn’t adore this wonderfully helpful old man. And it is a busy role for him: greeting at the information desk, delivering correspondence, and even participating in the Caring Clown program.
“He’s so inspiring to the new volunteers. He works with a mission,” Stern said, adding that there was another volunteer working at the hospital who was 96 years of age.
What a remarkable man and an example to us all!
(H/T: Stitch)