Steering the wheel: a 92-year-old Whitby Dene resident learns how to drive for the first time

Home news

Jul 23, 2018

A resident at Whitby Dene is on the road to success as she’s finally fulfilled her lifelong dream to drive. 

Vera Creasy, a resident at Care UK’s Whitby Dene, has fulfilled a long held desire to get behind the wheel of a car by having her very first driving lesson – at 92 years old.

Being unable to drive her whole life, unlike the rest of her family, Vera says she always felt left out. After moving to Whitby Dene, she made a wish through the home’s wishing tree scheme, which allows residents to submit their dreams.  

On receipt of Vera’s wish, the home manager at Whitby Dene, Saad Baig, set to work to make it come true. Saad got in touch with the manager of the Young Driver driving school, in Hillingdon, who agreed to give Vera her first driving lesson. 

Whitby Dene home manager, Saad Baig, said: “Every resident is different, and we like to make sure they all feel at home here at Whitby Dene. Our wishing tree is a wonderful way to understand our residents better and see what is really meaningful to them. It is fantastic to be able to make their wishes come true.

“Driving has always been one of Vera’s unfulfilled life aspirations, and at the age of 92 it was fantastic to make this a reality. She was thrilled when she came back from her first lesson, as it was something she thought she’d never get the chance to do!” 

Vera Creasy, a resident at Whitby Dene and former secretary at Kodak, was born in 1926. She was married to Edward Creasy, with whom she had a son, Alan, and a daughter, Paula. She has four grandchildren. Vera also enjoys sports, including hockey, tennis, and table tennis. Vera moved to her new home, Whitby Dene, in September 2017.