Maritime senior’s dream takes flight

Paul Dent left his dream job in 2004 after a stroke forced him to give up his pilot license. But this week, the deserving senior’s dreams took flight once again, thanks to the We Are Young Charity.

Dent lives in the Windsor Elms Village, a nursing home located in Falmouth, N.S., The former pilot recently got the opportunity to accompany a flight crew in a helicopter.

“Paul is special to the whole nursing home,” says Sherry Smith, a staffer at the nursing home. “He wants to share his story of his life and the work that he’s done across Canada working with the Sea Kings and the passion that he had for it.”

Smith explained that since the age of four, Dent wanted to become a pilot.

“He never, ever wavered from that,” she added.

One of Dent’s former co-workers, Major Andrew Mott, believes the helicopter ride will be a highlight of his later years.

“The best way to describe Paul is a pilot’s pilot,” Mott said, noting they were both instructors.

While Dent was once offered the opportunity to become a major, he turned the role down, telling his boss, “I’d just like to fly airplanes.”

For Cara Chisholm, co-founder of the We Are Young charity, it’s wonderful to see Dent’s dream come true one more time.

“From day one, it’s always been to honour the role that seniors play in our community, and oftentimes they get forgotten, so to showcase our seniors and what they’ve done for us to get us where we are today is important,” Chisholm said.

While Dent knew the helicopter was planning a landing, he was only expecting to have the opportunity to speak with the pilots.

Naturally, Dent was surprised when he realized he would be going for a helicopter ride.

“He would say, ‘it’s my passion, I would just like to get back in the air one more time,’” Smith said. “Today is his dream come true to get into the sky one more day.”

Upon landing, Dent had just one thing to say:

“I’ve had my excitement for one day.”