MONTREAL - With an infectious laugh and a joyful spirit, Cicilia Laurent is certainly young at heart.
But at 115 years old, sometimes the body just can't keep up, and that led Canada's oldest woman to seek help in procuring a wheelchair.
Luckily, with charm like hers, she had no trouble finding generous donors to provide her with some new wheels.
Family and friends gathered in Montreal Saturday to wish her a belated birthday and offer her a wheelchair.
"It's to take her out for those walks. She did not have a wheelchair, and at least the beautiful weather is coming out. I wanted to make sure she had a beautiful wheelchair for the weather," said Giovanna Giancaspro, who organized the wheelchair funds.
The charity was not lost of Laurent, who came to Canada last year after surviving the earthquake in Haiti.
With three children still alive – one of whom is 96 and lives in Haiti – she wants to help the impoverished country.
"She still wants help because she (knows) some young sons in Haiti. They don't have any house to sleep--they're still in the shelter now," said Ronald Cherry, Laurent's grandson.
Laurent has fallen in love with her adopted homeland, said Cherry.
"She wants to invite all people all people around the world to see how beautiful Canada is," he explained.
And we had to ask… what's her secret to longevity?
"She eats natural foods and then she prays a lot and she loves people," said Cherry. "She treats people well. That's why she's still alive."
