Heartwarming scenes of family reunion have been seen across the country as restrictions on care home visits are eased as part of Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown.
Footage shows the moment Patsy, 81, and Fred, 82, who have been married 60 years, were able to hold hands and be together for the first time in 355 days at Ashlea Court Care Home, Waltham, Lincolnshire, yesterday.
Prior to the pandemic Patsy would travel to visit Fred, who has advanced dementia, every day from her home in Cleethorpes.
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.
Care home manager Kelly Hallam said: ‘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.’
Care home residents in England are now able to receive indoor visits from a nominated friend or relative as part of stage one of the easing of lockdown restrictions which also saw schools return to full class sizes yesterday.
Footage shows Patsy, 81, and Fred, 82, who have been married 60 years, holding hands for the first time in 355 days at Ashlea Court Care Home, Waltham, Lincolnshire
Prior to the pandemic Patsy would travel to visit Fred, who has advanced dementia, every day from her home in Cleethorpes
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
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 must wear 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.
Similar scenes of reunion were seen in North Tyneside where a daughter was able to hold her elderly mum’s hand for the first time in six months.
Sheila Hall, 81, who has Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, has been living at Eothen Homes in Wallsend since September and had not seen her daughter – also called Sheila Hall, 59, since moving into the home.
This is the moment Sheila Hall, 59, was able to touch her 81-year-old mum Sheila Hall’s face for the first time in six months
The pair, who share the same name, had an emotional reunion after the daughter tested negative for Covid on a rapid test and had a temperature check
The grandmother-of-four was finally able to have her daughter to visit this morning, with hand-holding permitted after the visitor tested negative for Covid on a rapid test and had a temperature check.
The pair’s eyes filled with tears as they saw each other and sat together for a chat.
Sheila, of Preston village, North Shields, said: ‘It was just wonderful, it was overwhelming and so emotional. It was so joyful just to see her – see that she was ok, see her in the flesh and being able to hold her hand.’
All residents and staff at the home have had their first vaccines and are due to have their second dose from next week.
Speaking about the easing of lockdown restrictions, Christine Henderson, manager of the care home, said: ‘This means that finally relatives and families can come in and have that much-needed physical contact with their loved ones.
‘And for us it’s another step forward to some kind of normality. A lot of people have really struggled not seeing their loved ones and today has been just lovely.’
In Taunton, Somerset, Dulcie Clatworthy, a resident of The Manor Care Home, was able to celebrate her 104th birthday by seeing her daughter, Barbara Clatworthy, properly for the first time in months.
The pair were previously only able to see each other from a pod.
Dulcie, who advises everyone to take every day as it comes, said: ‘It’s really lovely to be back together.’
She added: ‘I’ve got a good daughter, I had a good husband and good parents so I’ve had a good life.’
Dulcie’s care home issued an appeal for cards to help her mark the special day – and she’s been left a little overwhelmed by people’s generosity, with her room now full to the brim with cards and gifts. The staff at the care home laid on balloons and a cake for Dulcie.
Barbara said her mother has always kept fit, adding: ‘She always used to do gardening and walking around. She was very fit. She used to go up and down the stairs half a dozen times a day.’
The care home’s general manager Brighton Nyagomo said: ‘104 – do I need to say anything more? She doesn’t act it, she doesn’t look it – she’s still as beautiful as ever.. She’s amazing.’
He said Dulcie was at the ‘heart’ of the community within the home and added: ‘This couldn’t happen to a better person. She is amazing.’
At Carr Croft Care Home in Meanwood, Leeds, West Yorkshire, an emotional reunion took place between husband and wife of 60 years Frank, 88, and Sheila Whitelow, 82, who have been apart for over a year.
Frank said holding his wife’s hand for the first time in 12 months felt better than ‘winning the lottery’ as he cried tears of joy.
The heartwarming moment Frank and Sheila Whitelow are reunited at Carr Croft Care Home in Meanwood
Frank Whitelow, 88, said he cried tears of joy as he sat next to his wife Sheila, 82, after spending an agonising year apart due to Covid
The besotted pair, who had not been apart for more than a week since they got married in 1962, shared a warm embrace and held each other’s hand in a truly beautiful moment
The besotted pair, who had previously not been apart for more than a week since they got married in 1962, shared a warm embrace and held each other’s hand in a beautiful moment.
The stunning pictures show Sheila, who has dementia and Parkinson’s disease, beaming with joy as Frank holds her tight and hands her a bouquet of flowers.
Devoted husband Frank said he ‘couldn’t put into words’ how he felt after seeing her for the first time indoors in over a year.
He said his one wish is to take her home so he can see her everyday as he wants ‘that lady back in my life’.
Frank said: ‘I went in and we just sat holding hands and it was like winning the lottery, in fact it was better. I’ve waited a long time for that.
‘I can’t tell you the feeling I had. I did shed a few tears. I was absolutely elated. In fact I didn’t sleep last night to be honest. It was nice just to hold her hand.
‘When she realised who I was the big smile came and she was excited. It makes me feel a lot better. I think now I have seen her, it’s something that I can’t put into words.’
The couple have been separated since Sheila fell and broke her leg early last year, before the pandemic hit.
Until then they had only ever spent one week apart during their long marriage.
Despite not being able to drive, Frank visited his wife every day in hospital until the rules suddenly changed with the arrival of Covid-19 and all visits were stopped.
Sheila was then moved to a care home in Bradford for rehabilitation before arriving at Carr Croft Care Home in Chapel Allerton in July 2020.
By this point, Frank was so desperate to see her, he arranged for a taxi to take him to the care home’s car park so he could be there when the ambulance arrived to admit her.
Since then the couple have had two outdoor meetings – one on Christmas Day and one on her birthday, on February 21 – but each lasted just two minutes because of the cold weather.
So Frank said being able to see her indoors was ‘another world’.
Sheila’s condition has sadly deteriorated over the past year but Frank has never let a day go by where he hasn’t rung to speak to her over the phone.
He said: ‘It’s very important to me. I don’t want her to think I’ve forgotten her. I think of her every second. We’ve been married 59 years come September.
‘It’s been quite lonely. But the thought of seeing her helps a lot. It’s difficult. Life is not as good as it could be actually.’
Frank said before the pandemic, the couple, who don’t have any children, would regularly go out for coffee or ride the bus to destinations such as Ripon, Huddersfield and Castleford – and would always hold hands.
He said: ‘We are quite a couple in Chapel Allerton because we always went around together, always holding hands together.
‘The number of people who have stopped in the street and said how lovely it is to see us holding hands. If we didn’t hold hands it wasn’t right actually.’
He added: ‘I’m absolutely 100 per cent devoted to her. She’s what I’m living for now.
‘I have great empathy for people who are in the same situation. It’s an awful position to be in and I feel for the people who have lost relatives and weren’t able to see them at the last minute.
‘I would like to see her every day. I’m hoping she might be able to come home some time. It’s my one wish in life – to get her home if I can. I know I can look after her.
‘When you feel so strongly about someone as I do you can summon strength up – that will keep you going. You find strength that you didn’t really know you had.
‘All I want is that lady back in my life.’