Donna Maddox, a resident at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks in Novi, MI, has been chasing thrills for more than nine decades. The 94-year-old does not appear to be afraid of anything, including heights.
“One time when I was very young, we were at Gatlinburg (TN), and they have a long tower that you climbed up to see,” Maddox said. “There was a woman up there that refused to come down and she was petrified. My mom said I climbed up those steps and walked up to the woman and said, ‘Come on, I’ll hold your hand.’ And she did, and I walked her down. That was very thrilling for me.”
Although life sometimes can be slower in a retirement community, it has not stopped Maddox from getting her adrenaline fix. Thanks to the help of Life Enrichment Manager Basma Jirjis, and Xtreme Xperience, she was able to ride shotgun in a Ferrari speeding around Michigan International Speedway through the Adventures by Waltonwood program, which provides residents the opportunity to check items off their “bucket lists.” Jirjis says Maddox’s request to go fast came at the perfect time.
“[Xtreme Xperience] came up on my social media account all the time and never really thought it was real,” Jirjis said. “When Donna gave me her sheet that said she wanted to do racing, those were the first things I thought about. It was crazy, because when she gave me the paper, I didn’t know Xtreme Xperience was going to be in town, but when I did the research, it was literally a month later when they were coming to Michigan. So I guess perfect timing. I called them and asked them about everything, and that’s when I booked.”
Once they got to the track, it was time for the rubber to meet the road. Because the racetrack hosts NASCAR events, Maddox wanted her driver to go at NASCAR speeds. It only took a little prodding.
“There were about seven or eight cars,” Maddox said. “[My driver] kept slowing down for the cars in front and I said, ‘Can’t you pass him?’ and he said, ‘You want to go faster?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I want to be first!’ He put on that pedal and off we went. I just couldn’t tell you how exciting it was.”
Going fast is nothing new for Maddox. She once drove her Lincoln 115 miles per hour up the Smoky Mountains. Although she may not be behind the wheel anymore, the need for speed still remains. Police departments in metro Detroit can breathe a collective sigh of relief.
“I’ve only had two tickets in my life, back in the late 1950s,” Maddox said. “But my sons always say, ‘Mom, they could never catch up to you.’”
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