‘God kept me alive’ says 105-year-old Plasiance woman
The simple things in life are indeed a blessing, especially for one Plasiance centenarian whose blessings multiplied on Saturday when she celebrated her 105th birthday. Joy filled the Lot 4 Grahams Street, Plasiance, East Coast Demerara, home of Esme Springer, who, among supportive and elated family and friends, rang in her 105th birthday.
The second of nine children, Springer, when asked her secret for living this long said “I don’t know but only God has caused me to live this long.”
Married but once to Arthur Springer, who died 35 years ago, Springer birthed nine children, three of whom have died. Her eldest child is 81 years old, while her youngest, twin girls, are 62 years old.
Springer, once a strong and independent woman now faces some challenges, having lost her sight.
According to her daughter Hazel David, her mother worked at bakery called Toovey Bakery, where she would carry large baskets of bread on her head to deliver to various places. She also remembered being taken into the backdam by her mother to the burn heap, where they took clay and burned it to make red bricks used to construct roads and buildings.
David stated that by examining the life her mother has lived thus far, she would have learnt that living a simple life and ensuring you eat right would take you to great lengths.
She joyfully recollected observing her mother eating a lot of fish and purchasing fresh greens in abundance.
“She would put a lot of coconut milk in everything,” David said.
Though there was great elation to celebrate her birthday, Springer spoke plainly of the pain she usually felt in her eyes. David said that her mother’s greatest challenge has been losing her sight.
“I’ve never heard her complain so much,” David said, “she likes her independence and losing her sight is hard. She lost her sight about 15 years ago but up to the age of 90, she was still going to the market and cooking her own food.”
Now, while Springer is unable to perform all the tasks she was once able to, she cannot stop giving God thanks for allowing her to see another birthday.