Every Wednesday night at Ryman’s Nellie Melba Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill, Sin Fong Chan can be found in the gym, teaching tai chi and chi gong to his fellow residents. The former software developer uses technology in his weekly classes, with lessons streamed through the gym’s TV screen. “I record people’s movements so it’s easy for them to check and practice,” he says.
You’d never guess that the active, community-minded 73-year-old is legally blind, or that he’s recuperating from open-heart surgery. But he’s determined to enjoy every moment of his ‘third age,’ and eager to help others do the same. “I’m always very positive,” he says.
“As long as I am still talking and thinking, I am still alive!” Ryman Healthcare is a favourite for its continuum of care model, which offers independent living, assisted living and low and high care — plus dementia care, providing reassurance that the future’s covered if circumstances change. Credit: Ryman Healthcare After an active life and high-level career culminating in university lecturing, Sin Fong and his wife Angeline had chosen Nellie Melba village as a home for their ‘third act.’ “It was time to enjoy the rewards of hard work,” he says.
“In 2022 we’d put up our house for sale, ready to move in. But one week later, I had an excruciating pain in my back.” Doctors told Sin Fong that without major surgery for his failing aorta, he might only have days to live.
He had the operation .