Anne, 47, has been through a lot recently. She lost her dad in 2012, and this year, she lost her young mum unexpectedly. “Mum had a soft heart, like all mums,” she remembers. Despite her losses, Anne’s warm personality, contagious smile, and big heart brightens up Rowan House for everyone around her.
Anne moved from Wellington to Hawke’s Bay where her mum and dad found apple jobs. She has one sister and three brothers, the youngest is 21. Before moving to Rowan around nine years ago, Anne lived in a Napier rest home meant for older people. “It wasn’t doing any good for me because I was doing the same old thing—just sitting around, eating, sitting,” she says. Moving to Rowan offered something different. Now, Anne lives with people closer to her age and can do more. Anne loves getting out and walking around the block, especially on hot days. She laughs about not missing the wind in Wellington! Anne studied at EIT, went to get a job at WINZ, and has worked at Taradale Service Centre.
Though her family doesn’t visit often, Anne feels supported. “I miss my family. I feel left out,” she shares, but the “Rowan people and especially the staff” help Anne to feel at home.
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