Most people have some sort of bucket list, or a list of things you want to do before you die. EveryAge’s Grant a Dream Foundation helps make those wishes possible.
Now, one 76-year-old woman from Wilmington got her dream granted: a simple wish to have a meal out with her husband.
For better or for worse, through sickness and in health, Julian and Carolyn McMillan have stayed together through it all. They’re high school sweethearts who recently celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary.
To celebrate, they went to Olive Garden for some pasta, sweet tea and cake — a real treat for the McMillans. Carolyn McMillan has Parkinson’s disease, and it’s made it hard for her and Julian McMillan to do some of the things they love, like go to a restaurant together.
“It’s difficult with her to get a wheelchair in the car and get it out and by the time I do that I’m exhausted,” Julian McMillan said. “So to be able to come and get the help to get here and the transportation is wonderful.”
Carolyn McMillan recently began care with Elderhaus PACE, a program that provides medical care for older adults, allowing them to live at home when they would otherwise be put in a facility.
PACE is an EveryAge program, and through the Grant a Dream Foundation, its seniors are eligible to have one dream fulfilled that would bring enjoyment and fulfillment to their lives.
Carolyn McMillan’s dream? To have a meal out with her husband, something she hasn’t gotten to do in two years.
It's an anniversary that could unfortunately be their last. Julian McMillan was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia and was told he only has months to live. However, he said he doesn’t plan on dying any time soon. He said when his time comes, he won’t be scared, he’s happy with the life he’s lived and the life he’s built with his wife.
“I still remember our first kiss, we’ve been together through thick and thin,” Carolyn McMillan wrote in a card to her husband, “Like having our first kid, and raising our family together, I love all of our memories and all of our days to come.”
This dream anniversary dinner wouldn’t have been possible without the care from Elderhaus PACE and the EveryAge Grant a Dream Foundation.
There are 16 EveryAge locations across North Carolina and Virginia, serving 2,000 older adults.