Now 77, Down’s boy who wasn’t expected to see 10th birthday
BORN with Down’s syndrome, Georgie Wildgust wasn’t expected to get past his tenth birthday.
However, he has now celebrated his 77th, crediting a healthy social life and a love of dancing for his long life. The pensioner is believed to be one of the oldest people in the world with Down’s syndrome and the oldest in Britain.
Mr Wildgust celebrated the milestone surrounded by family and friends at Watcombe Circus care home in Carrington, Nottingham. He moved to the home in 1993 after his mother’s death.
His niece, Nikki Wright, 44, of East Leake, Nottinghamshire, who visits him every week, said: ‘Its amazing for him to get to this age, my grandma was told he would not live past ten years old because of his Down’s syndrome. But look at him now.
‘It’s probably because he has such a lovely childhood with my grandma and granddad and when he came into the home he really was looked after too. He is really happy here.
‘My grandma was a dress maker and granddad worked down the pit. Back then, in the 1940s, doctors just wrote people off who had Down’s syndrome. But Georgie has always had a strong network of family and friends around him and that’s why he’s done so well.’ Mr Wildgust was born at home in the Cinderhill area of Nottingham in 1942 to parents Hilda and Abraham. His brother, Colin, 71, died three years ago, but his sister Jean Yessyan, 69, keeps in touch via Skype from her home in Australia.
His niece, a post office worker, said: ‘He likes going out for dinner, colouring books and especially dancing. It keeps him young and he loves watching Strictly Come Dancing on a Saturday. I think being kept busy and socialising here has really helped him. The staff are amazing and it is such a family here.’
A Down’s Syndrome Association spokesman said: ‘Thanks to medical advances and the care and love of those around them, the average life expectancy for people with Down’s syndrome is now between 50 and 60 years, with a small number of people living into their 70s and beyond.
‘Everyone at the Down’s Syndrome Association wishes Georgie a very happy birthday.’