On a roll

Since we last visited him four years ago, it’s safe to say 95-year-old Donald Harshbarger has continued rolling through life.

The Leesburg resident rises at 5a.m., stretches his upper and lower body, and then roller skates four miles around Venetian Gardens. It’s a daily routine for Donald, who battles emphysema and must strap a portable liquid oxygen tank on his back to breathe.

He also suffers from arthritis in his lower back and neck and serves as a caregiver for his wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease. For him, though, roller skating brings fulfillment as he copes with life’s day-to-day struggles.

“I love getting up that early and seeing the sunrise,” he says. “Plus, my wife typically sleeps until 9a.m. so that gives me a chance to get out before she wakes up.”

Donald has been an avid roller skater for 30 years. He’s endured several spills, which is why he faithfully wears knee, elbow and wrist pads.

“Whenever I fall, I pick myself up and keep going,” he says. “I cannot walk very well, but I can certainly roller skate. Venetian Gardens is a wonderful place to enjoy my hobby because of its beauty. I don’t go to a rink because I’m afraid all the kids would try to skate around me.”