Message from our director
About Ben
Born in Israel, raised in Canada and Australian by choice, Ben Adivi has been looking after older adults as a physiotherapist since 2010. A Gold Coast local since 2008, Ben previously delivered remedial exercise therapy programs to clients in Toronto, Canada. He now specialises in the provision of aged care physiotherapy and allied health services in Australia. He has been a health professional since 2003 and has dedicated his life to improving the lives of older adults.
Hello,
I was not put on this earth to reinvent the wheel—my purpose in life has been to improve the health of others.
When I was young, I would wake up in a cold sweat after dreaming of dying. Mortality frightened me and I would not accept it. When I learned about morbidity, I was set on a path to suppress my own for as long as possible and to teach people how to suppress theirs.
We all have a clock, but it is what we do with the time we have and how we live a life to its fullest that defines who we are and the mark we leave on this planet.
Living to a ripe old age is a privilege. The luckiest of us will see 80, 90, 100 and beyond. Helping those of us in need is the work to which I have dedicated myself and I believe that older people have earned the right to the highest quality healthcare.
When I was in the middle of my postgraduate physiotherapy studies, I flew to Israel to help my mother look after her mother, who was in her eighties and who was a patient in a rehabilitation facility following cardiac surgery. My grandmother was on the receiving end of sub-standard care, as she was told to use her continence aid in bed, rather than be assisted to the toilet. After my grandmother eventually returned home, she suffered a fall from the toilet, fractured her hip and died within two weeks whilst waiting for surgery.
My own father died when he was 62—before he could see me graduate from my undergraduate studies in science, before seeing me meet the love of my life and get married, before he could enjoy his future grandchildren.
My mother-in-law died when she was 50. My wife and I looked after her in her own home, taking care of her basic needs as she was leaving this world. My wife was lucky enough to perform her duties both as a daughter and as a nurse—an honour that most of us will never experience.
As an aged care physiotherapist, I have made a pledge to assist those in need and to train others to do the same. After all, when we look after other people, we are actually looking after ourselves.
Yours in health,
Ben Adivi
