Far too often, it's easy for us to discredit the elderly and to treat them like they're past their prime and incapable of doing things for themselves. This is before we get into topics like elder neglect and abuse, which are unfortunately all too common and often go unreported to the proper authorities.
The fact is, the elderly are just as capable of impressing you with what they can do as anybody else, if not even more so. While we've all had to deal with people in their lives who think that they're "too old to learn new things" (I mean my mom was saying that even in her 40s), the fact is that you're never too old to learn something new.
It may take a little more effort and concentration than it would have years ago, but at the end of the day, you can absolutely teach an old dog new tricks. The catch is, that old dog's gotta want to learn.
Case and point: when his wife of 58 years found herself unable to drive after suffering from a stroke, one man stepped up to the plate in a big way...
Keith Limbert, from Garforth, West Yorkshire, wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the idea of driving: he had taken driving lessons once he was legally allowed to do so, but never actually took his test to get his license.
For the entirety of their decades-long relationship, it was Limbert's girlfriend (and then wife) Anne who did all the driving, and he was content to let her be the one in charge of the car.
That all changed when Anne suffered a stroke at 79.
The stroke left her unable to drive, which was an especially big problem given the fact that she also has to regularly go to the hospital for breast cancer treatments. That's when Keith decided to do something to help.
He tells Metro: "My wife drove me around for 40 years, she passed [for the] first time in 1972 and I didn't know how good I had it. She would take me to race meetings and that meant I could have a drink...or two. I was chauffeur driven to be honest. She has looked after me long enough and I think it's about time for me to look after her now. I owe her."
And so that was that. After taking classes and failing his test twice, Keith ultimately succeeded in getting his driving permit, and now drives Anne (and occasionally their three children and three grandchildren) around in their Vauxhall Corsa.
Most impressive of all? Keith, who also lifts weights in his spare time, says that age doesn't limit what he can do. He simply comments that "I don't feel like I am 79 at all."
