It’s not uncommon to see Mattie Garretson walking the track at Doctors Hospital every day, bowling with her league regularly, or doing her favorite thing in the world — bass fishing in her custom-built bass boat in Galveston Bay near the Intercoastal Waterway.
What’s uncommon about Garretson doing these things is the age at which she’s doing them: 91.
In fact, she lives more than most people half her age. In addition to being physically active, Garretson has a long list of organizations she works with. She’s a member of a club for seniors called the Priority Club, works with the Triple L Club (translating into Live Longer and Like it) at Lakeside Baptist and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. She also assists several Alzheimer’s groups since her sister recently lost her life at the hands of the disease.
She also spends much of her time at Doctors Hospital, but not because she is sick; instead she’s helping the hospital’s employees understand the needs of some of their patients: seniors.
“I first met Mattie about two years ago when she walked in the administrative offices to tell me that she had some suggestions for the hospital,” says Julie Martin, a physician liaison at Doctors. “I was in my weekly marketing meeting with three others, and we invited her in to give us her input. She told us how we could do things better, and all of her suggestions were great. We actually reinstated a program based on the insight she provided.”
Garretson is also a regular at the hospital attending lectures and events that are offered through its senior program, Prestige Care. On the other end of the spectrum, Garretson has spent more than her fair share of time in the hospital, having overcome both colon and kidney cancer and a heart attack she had in 1996, which was the main impetus for her daily walks.
“I don’t see any reason not to stay busy,” Garretson says. “I am healthy, and I asked one of my doctors one day if I was running pretty close to what I should be at this age. He said, ‘When I am your age, if I am in as good of condition, I will call you.”
Garretson says that she has always been a caregiver and has been happy to do it. Maintaining a sense of humor is what allows her to keep going strong, she says, and others find that inspirational.
“She is so full of life and spreads happiness everywhere she goes,” Martin says. “She was mugged in a parking lot at the drugstore a few weeks ago. Even then, she didn’t miss a beat and kept a positive attitude.”
