Reunited Nine-month ordeal is over for couple separated by pandemic
AWOMAN has finally been reunited with her 94-year-old husband after they were kept apart for nine months by the pandemic.
Kath Price was the first relative of a resident at Wentworth Court Nursing Home in Cheltenham to take the fasttrack lateral flow antigen test.
And her result came back negative, allowing her to see her husband, Eric, once again.
Kath, 89, said: “When I got the call to say the tests had arrived and finally I could come in, I was completely overwhelmed – it was such a relief. We’ve never been apart this long and I have missed him so much, worried that he might forget me because of his condition.”
Eric has been living for nearly two years at Wentworth Court, whose residents have moderate to severe dementia.
They have been protected in a support bubble with the home’s care team without outside visitors since March.
It meant that Kath and Eric, who celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary next March, were apart for Eric’s 94th birthday on Saturday. However, they have been keeping in touch via Skype calls twice a week.
The home’s managers are confident that the introduction of rapid testing on Monday will now enable regular visits to take place.
Visitors take the test in the car park and are allowed into the home when the negative result comes through. A ground floor bedroom has been set aside as a visiting room, which is accessed from the front garden to ensure the safety of other residents and staff members. The home will welcome up to 10 relatives a day, who will be required to wear full PPE.
Home manager, Gez Ossai, said: “We are very grateful to our residents’ families, who have been very patient and understood why we have had to keep the home locked down to keep everyone safe.
“We know it’s been very difficult for them to be apart for so long, but now we have supplies of the lateral flow antigen tests, which provide results within 30 minutes, it’s a game-changer. With the right safety measures in place, we are very pleased that the wait is over and relatives will be reunited in time for Christmas.”
Kath had nothing but praise for the home: “The team here have been incredible, and I have every faith that he (Eric) has been very well cared for and they’ve kept his spirits up, but it’s just so wonderful to see him again and finally give him a hug.”