With the help of MercyCare Kelmscott’s Lifestyle Therapy and Spirituality Coordinator Tracy Molloy, her wish became a reality.
Last month, the 76-year-old got three colourful Monarch butterflies inked on her arm, each one representing her three children.
“I absolutely love butterflies,” Maggie said. “I wanted to get the tattoos on my arm so I can look down and see them every day.”
Tracy, who runs a fortnightly lifestyle and therapy program at the Kelmscott Home, first heard Maggie express her interest in getting a tattoo a few months ago.
“I didn’t do anything with this immediately, but when it came up in conversation again, that was when I realised that Maggie was very serious about getting the tattoo,” Tracy said.
“I’m always trying to encourage the residents at Kelmscott to think about activities that they would like to do so when this came up my first thought was, ‘How can I make this happen?’.”
In turning Maggie’s ‘wish’ into a reality, Tracy turned to her son Dan Molloy, who is an experienced tattoo artist and recently opened his own tattoo parlour in the southern suburbs.
While he doesn’t often have clients aged in their 70s, Dan was more than happy to fulfil Maggie’s request, which took less than 90 minutes to complete.
“I trust him with the care of my residents,” Tracy said.
“He was so gentle with her and engaged her in conversation during the tattoo to make sure that she was comfortable. It was lovely to be a part of the experience.”
Maggie was blown away by the result and couldn’t wait to show off her new tattoos to her friends and her three children, who she said had “called me crazy” when she told them of her plans to get inked.
“I absolutely love my tattoos, it’s just how I imagined it would be,” Maggie said.
Tracy felt honoured to be part of Maggie’s tattoo experience and was thrilled she could make her wish come true.
“This experience was very rewarding for me personally,” Tracy said.
“The smile on her face as she was casually chatting to Dan about the story behind her choices, this stuff makes my heart happy.”
For Tracy, supporting residents to achieve their wishes is the most rewarding part of her job.
“If my residents have something to look forward to, it gets them out of bed each morning and gives them a sense of purpose,” she said.
“I want them to live life with meaning and purpose.”
Check out the video of Maggie getting her tattoo below!
