Couple’s separation anxiety

With 12,000 kilometres between them, 85-year-old Pat Carter fears she might never see her husband alive again.

Carter, a Kiwi, left the Fort Saskatchewan, Canada, home she shares with her Canadian husband, 87-year-old Larry Koziak three months ago. New Zealand was yet to confirm its first case of the virus.

‘‘I didn’t give it a thought,’’ Carter said. ‘‘China was having a bit of a problem, but no-one else seemed to be.’’

But the situation changed rapidly, and Carter decided to cut her planned three-month trip short, re-booking her flight for March 28.

However, the day before Carter’s scheduled flight, the Government announced that from midnight, only essential workers would be able to take domestic flights.

Unaware of the change, Carter packed her bags, shut up her Nelson property and headed to Nelson Airport, where Air New Zealand staff told her she could not board her flight.

‘‘They said, we can’t allow you to board the plane, you’re not an essential worker. They told me to go home. I was gutted.’’

On April 2, the Government approved the exemption for foreign nationals to take domestic flights to connect with an international flight.

Carter was unaware of this, and no-one from Air New Zealand had been in touch, she said.

Carter’s flight has been rebooked for July, but she isn’t holding her breath that flights will resume any time soon. In fact, her optimism had been severely dented.

‘‘I’m not unused to trauma; I once had four children, I now have two. But I have never been one for depression or negativity, I have always been an optimist. But this is getting me down.’’

The couple miss each other ‘‘bitterly,’’ and despite daily video chats, the separation was taking its toll, she said.

‘‘[Koziak] is very lonely. He has five children, but his family are so scared of passing the virus on they don’t really go to see him much.’’

The couple both have health problems, including a shared heart condition. Last year, Koziak almost died from kidney failure, and Carter has ‘‘cancer cells lurking around’’, she said.

Although they are ‘‘perfectly OK day to day’’, the couple were anxious to be reunited.

‘‘We’re not going to live forever,’’ Carter said.

The couple met in Portugal when Carter was 74. ‘‘I’d never been to Spain or Portugal. I thought I’d better do it now, while I’m still healthy and able to cart baggage around and put up with inconvenience.’’

On a tour bus, she sat next to Koziak. ‘‘We hit it off’’, Carter said.

‘‘We had a lot in common, including being widowed at the same time.’’

After a two-year long-distance relationship, they married, and Carter moved to Canada to be with her new husband.

Over the years, age has slowed the once-active couple down. But it’s also brought them closer.

‘‘We have a very happy marriage; we do everything together. Because of our age, we can’t do very much, and we are together 24/7. Our relationship is quite intense.

‘‘I said to a friend, this is worse than death. With death, you know they’re not coming back, they’re gone. This uncertainty... we just don’t know.’’

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said that Government requirements meant staff were unable to allow customers to board for nonessential travel.

‘‘Air New Zealand contacted all customers directly to inform them of the restrictions and uploaded the latest information on our website.’’