There is nothing quite like a mothers love, and that special bond that is shared between mother and child has seen many women do extraordinary things.
No matter our age, a hug from mum has the ability to turn the worst of situations into something manageable, regardless of whether we had just fallen off our bike as a child or made a bad decision in our adult lives.
Ada Keating is a 98-year-old mother who has always had a special relationship with her 80-year-old son Tom.
And when Tom decided that he needed some help being looked-after and made the decision to move into an aged care facility – his 98-year-old mother Ada decided that she was going along with him.
Initially, Ada Keating would visit her son at the Moss View nursing home on a regular basis to help care for him, but being an ex-nurse, Ada’s need to care for her son was so great that she decided that she wanted to move in permanently.
Tom was a former painter and decorator who was never married and spent the majority of his adult life living with his mother, and while the term ‘mama’s boy’ is not a label that most adult men like to hear, it is a label that Tom wears proudly.
Tom has always adored his mother, and the amazing bond between the pair that grew after decades of living together is not a one-way street. Although Tom appreciates everything that his mother is doing for him, it is quite clear that being close to Tom is something that is extremely beneficial to her.
The pair stay together from morning to night, and 98-year-old Ada makes a point of being the first person to greet Tom every morning, and the last person to say goodnight before he goes to sleep.
On the rare occasion that Ada does venture outside the walls of the nursing home for a hair appointment or outing, Tom actually wanders the hallways looking for his mother.
The rest of the family are extremely happy with having both Ada and Tom living in the same facility, as time together has a positive effect on both of them as individuals.
Employees at the Moss view nursing home have never seen a situation where both a mother and son are living together but they do believe that Ada’s willingness to care for her son is more than enough proof to suggest that she must have been an amazing nurse.
Motherhood is often a thankless job and the years of much-needed hugs and loving acceptance rarely receive the amount of appreciation they should, and even though we are sure that Tom lets her know that she is amazing, we just want Ada Keating to know that we think that she is amazing too.
Jakob Needland what a great article. “ A mother is a mother for life and you can’t take the Nursing out of a retired Nurse”. Thank you for sharing this story .
OMG! What a Beautiful story and Relationship 🙂 I can’t stop crying!
I wish them both many more happy years of living with and loving each other.
Truly a Beautiful story Thank You!