Happy reunion for Bettie as care homes unlock
A96-YEAR-OLD care home resident said she was ‘overjoyed’ to be reunited with her family after months of lockdown.
Bettie Lovell, 96, a resident at Abbeyfield House in Bramhall, was finally able to hold hands with her daughter Pamela after many months apart.
A mother of four, with nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, Bettie said having to talk to family over the phone or on video calls has not been the same.
She joins thousands of care home residents across the country who will benefit from contact with loved ones as restrictions are eased.
From April 12, every care home resident can nominate up to two named visitors who will be able to enter the care home for regular visits.
Visitors are encouraged to keep social contact to a minimum, but holding hands is permitted.
Bettie said: “I have missed my family so much.
“We’ve been talking on the phone and video-calls but it’s not the same.
“I’m overjoyed that Pamela is able to come and visit me again, and hopefully my other children, who live further away, will be able to make the trip soon, since we are now allowed more than one visitor.”
Bettie has lived with The Abbeyfield Society, a charity which provides communal housing and care for older people in the UK and internationally, for a number of years, after spending a large proportion of her life living on the South Coast and a few years in South Africa.
A keen swimmer, Bettie was frequently swimming in the sea well into her 80s.
However, when it became clear she required extra support, she followed a recommendation from her daughter to move into Abbeyfield.
Having spent most of the winter indoors, including being in and out of hospital, Bettie is looking forward to the weather getting warmer.
In her own words Bettie said she enjoyed being outside and doing ‘many jobs other women wouldn’t normally do’, such as gardening and building.
Nowadays she is not able to take on such physically demanding tasks, but she still enjoys sitting in the sun and fresh air.
Bettie has also been a keen fundraiser all her life. Starting off by raising funds for the blind from a young age, her achievements since have included raising the funds to establish a bowls club on the South Coast and helping to set up a school for disabled children in South Africa.
Bettie said: “I’m eager to explore the local community in Bramhall when lockdown is over.
“And I look forward to seeing which charitable organisations could benefit from my help and experience.”