Prisoners of the pandemic

Dear Editor:

As one with grey hair, I am compelled to speak up for seniors.

We have spent our lives working and saving and hoping for a happy retirement.

Then, the pandemic strikes. Being in the vulnerable age group, having some underlying health conditions, perhaps having Type A blood, makes us at greater risk of serious consequences or death if we contract the virus.

The government wants us to keep safe. I understand that. However, we are in our senior years —the end of the life spectrum.

What good is it to be safe, if we miss out of the last months or years of being able to visit a spouse in long-term care? Under the current rules, we must sit six feet apart, and I must wear a mask. I get a visit once a week if I am so lucky.

We are not allowed to have coffee together, or share a piece of birthday cake, or have a hug or a kiss. Any flowers have to be isolated for two days and you can imagine what they look like then. Not their best!

My husband, whom I have known for 56 years, is my other half — my right arm, my best friend. We have endured being apart for five months now. We telephone, we have Skype chats, and just recently these in-person visits that are really not that satisfactory.

These measures do not compensate for the human touch and interaction.

Most of my fellow seniors are living safely — avoiding crowds, rarely leaving the house except for groceries or appointments, practicing good hand-washing, and wearing masks, and maintaining social distancing.

How are we of any greater risk to the residents of long-term care than the staff who work there?

The staff change their uniforms for street clothes and then go home to young families and husbands and go out to restaurants and down to the beach.

We seniors could gown up, wear a mask, hold hands with our loved ones, and then wash them after the visit is over.

I could take my husband out for a drive for a change of scene, but I am only allowed to drive him to a dentist or doctor’s appointment. I am still the same person and drive the same vehicle.

Not only is it the health of seniors who are in-care patients, it is the health of those seniors who live isolated in their homes who are at risk.

We are all prisoners of the pandemic. How much longer must we remain prisoners? Six months? A year? By then many of the people in nursing homes will have died anyway of other causes.

In the meantime, the bars are open. Restaurants are open. The beaches are crowded. Where are the safety measures?

How can the rules for visits to long-term care residents be so different from the public? We don’t have much time left. Let us make good memories while we still can.

Diana Bright, Penticton