‘OUR FIRST TOUCH IN 355 DAYS’
‘A TRUE LOVE STORY’: HUSBAND AND WIFE REUNITED AFTER ALMOST YEAR APART DURING PANDEMIC
A HUSBAND and wife of 60 years have been reunited at a care home in Waltham after 355 days apart due to the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, Patsy, 81, would visit Fred, 82, every day at the Ashlea Court Care Home on Church Lane, in Waltham, but due to restricted visiting and a series of trips to hospital the pair hadn’t met in person since March 18 last year. Patsy, who lives in Cleethorpes, said it has been emotional to be reunited with Fred who now lives in the assisted living facility full time. The visit was enabled by the government lifting the restrictions on visiting to care homes as of yesterday as stage one of the overall lifting of lockdown began. Residents can nominate one person for regular visits.
Patsy said: “It has been almost exactly a year to the day since we last saw each other properly, we tried to do visits through the window and on video chat but with his condition that just upset him.
“I think in a way it created a lot more work for the staff here when they had to calm him down, especially for the manager Kelly. “I genuinely thought this day might never come and it just means so much to be able to be here in person to see him.
“It has been such a long time apart but I’m so glad now that we can be back together and that I can come and visit him regularly.”
The pair were visibly emotional when staff brought Fred out of the doors of the care home to meet his wife once again, he took her hand and didn’t want to let go.
Fred has advanced dementia which had made remote calls or window visits especially difficult and Patsy said the care home staff had really stepped in to fill the gap left by her absence.
She said: “I’ve got 100 per cent faith in the staff here and the job that they have been doing throughout the pandemic to keep people in touch with their relatives and to keep them reassured.
“I honestly don’t know what I’d have done without them here in the meantime. For all the hard work that they’ve done, I call them my angels in shoes.”
Care home residents in England are now able to receive indoor visits from a nominated friend or relative as a part of the easing of lockdown restrictions which also saw schools return to full class sizes yesterday. Residents are now able to nominate a person to visit them indoors and residents with the high care needs can receive visits from a loved one more often to provide support.
As part of the drive to keep safety at the fore all visitors will be given a Covid test, they y must wear persona personal protective equipment (PPE) and will be asked to keep physical contact to a minimum.
Holding hands is permitted but hugs and kissing are not and outdoor visits and window visits will continue where possible so residents can see other loved ones. Care home manager Kelly Hallam said: “It has been really difficult for everyone with the residents not being able to be with their relatives, it has been heartbreaking at times. “The staff here have really stepped up to try and keep morale up as much as they can, they have been working so hard and doing so many extra activities to try and keep them occupied.
“They really have been incredible stepping in to fill that gap in the lives
I’ve got 100 per cent faith in the staff here and the job that they have been doing throughout the pandemic to keep people in touch with their relatives and to keep them reassured.
Patsy Tyler
of these people who have lost real close contact with their loved ones for so long.
“This has just been the best day ever for me, I have been getting a bit teary just watching some of the people being reunited properly for the first time in ages.
“It has been a long time coming and it is so nice to be able to welcome people back, I’m just looking forward to a time when we don’t have to take booking and make appointments anymore and people can truly be together again. “With Fred and Patsy it is just incredible, you look at the two of them and what it means for them to be back together - they’re a true love story, that is what real love looks like.”