Peggy Cook had some surprise visitors for Mother’s Day.
The 97-year-old Orillia woman lives at Birchmere Retirement Residence, where five of her family members showed up for a window visit Sunday.
It was the first time her daughter, Janice Upenieks, had seen her since March, when the facility went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been really tough. You just want to see their faces,” she said. “You want to be there to take care of them.”
The family praised Birchmere for arranging Sunday’s visits.
“It’s great that they’re doing this for Mother’s Day,” said Bill Cook, Peggy’s son. “I’m proud of Birchmere. They’re handling this pandemic very well.”
It wasn’t only mothers who were shown some love Sunday. Lynne Westerby was able to see her spouse, Ralph Carter. A former Orillia fire captain for more than three decades, he has been at Birchmere for six years due to a “debilitating condition,” Westerby explained.
“I haven’t seen him since the outbreak. It’s been months,” she said.
Carter resides on the second floor, so Westerby can’t just drop by any time for a window visit.
“Thank heavens Birchmere let us see him,” she said.
Westerby was one of 10 family members who visited Carter on Sunday. He also got to see his siblings, his mother, his son and others, while his daughter on the West Coast was on FaceTime during the visit.
Residents taking part in the visits were brought to two empty rooms at the front of the building, where family members had the chance to see them and talk to them on the phone.
