B.C. seniors keep love alive with romantic rides on wheelchair
Janice Foran will never forget the night her blind date picked her up in a Town Car and a tuxedo.
“The car didn’t impress me too much. It was rented,” Janice recalls with a smile. “But he owned that tux. That was impressive!”
Her date, Peter Foran, was a introverted banker. Although extroverted Janice worked for an accounting firm, her true passion was dancing.
“I would shuffle my feet at the company dance,” Peter says, before admitting he doesn’t like dancing at all.
Despite their differences, Janice and Peter started dating.
“There were butterflies in my stomach,” Janice says.
Eventually they said, “I do.”
“She is a life force that draws me out,” Peter says. “And I’m probably the steady locomotive that keeps us intact.”
After 44 years of marriage, Peter may no longer travel by Town Car, but he’s still taking Janice out on dates.
Since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Peter takes Janice for romantic rides on his wheelchair. They travel along the city’s bike lanes and waterfront paths, with her sitting sideways across his lap, her arm draped around his neck.
“Peter is a gentleman in every sense of the word,” Janice smiles.
Although he can’t do things like open a door for her anymore, Janice says he’s never stopped making her feel like a lady.
“He says he’s got his treasure on his lap!” Janice smiles.
When his neurologist suggested that MS should stand for “missing spouse” — because of the distance it can cause between a couple — Peter encouraged Janice join a dance society so he could support her passion from the sidelines.
“I tried it get along with her dance crowd,” Peter says. “Which is not a banker’s crowd.”
Until Peter found a way to turn her crowd into his audience.
Peter and Janice collaborated with her dance instructor to choreograph a performance that included his wheelchair.
“It was just brilliant. Just amazing,” Janice says it was just about the most loving thing he could do.
“Every day is a blessing with him.”
The couple recently moved from Victoria to Vancouver to be closer to their grown children.
Now, a whole new community is seeing their romantic rides and seeing that despite life’s inevitable twists and turns, there is a way to keep love moving straight ahead.
“You can either get bitter and retire from the world,” Peter says. “Or you can force yourself to get out and get at it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.