Doing ‘touch your toes’ exercise at 103

At age 103, Millie could stand and touch her toes and do other simple stretch exercises without the assistance of her niece and nephews with whom she lives in First Avenue, San Juan. On Wednesday, Mildred “Millie” Isabelle Betancourt commemorated her birthday with a mass, a few family members, cake and ice cream. How did she feel on marking such a milestone? Millie said: “Oh my God ah just living! I don’t know how ah living... It is not my will, but thy will be done.” Millie is the lone surviving member of her family — parents Venezuelan Michael Betancourt and Rose nee Guiseppi, and eight siblings. “My mother had nine children, six girls and three boys and I am the third,” said a very collective Millie. Millie was born on October 29, 1900 and grew up on Queen Street, St Joseph. From childhood she always wanted to help the sick, so she became a nurse and devoted her life to her job right up to retirement age. Millie never married but treated her nieces and nephews as her own children. She has seven nieces, 19 great nieces and nephews, 29 great, great nieces and nephews, and four great, great, great nieces and nephews.

“I don’t forget 1956 at all, when my mother died.” Millie still remembers the day her mother died and was buried; that day was also Millie’s birthday. “That was my birthday gift, her death,” she said. Millie does little on her own including taking her own baths, dressing herself and eating. She is not partial with food. A recent visit from the doctor showed that Millie is in good health, with no ailments. However, her hearing is slightly dull. When asked what contributed to her long life she paused for a short while, then laughed. She said: “Trouble, I living by trouble. I don’t know anything else but trouble. You get up good, and by night time you not feeling good.” She expressed little desire in seeing another birthday saying that she longed “to sleep. As long as I sleeping let me sleep.”