With long-term care homes loosening restrictions on in-person visits as of July 22, Nick and Ruth, who have been married for 32 years, were finally reunited in-person indoors on Friday.
Nick lives in the IOOF’s Heritage Place supportive apartments in Barrie, while Ruth lives in the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Long Term Care Home.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the couple had been separated since March.
The VanDerGuliks were the first couple to take advantage of the new visiting method at the IOOF this week.
“It’s been totally frustrating,” Nick said. “The first couple of months were the worst. The home set it up where we had a virtual visit once a week, which was a big help. But this has been hard on both of us.”
He said the first time he and his wife were reunited virtually, it was a waste of time because they did nothing but cry.
“It was very emotional,” he said.
Nick said that when the home implemented the outdoor plexiglass visiting wall in June, it was also a big help, but it still wasn’t quite the same.
As part of the new IOOF protocol for in-person, indoor visits, any visitor must have a current negative COVID-19 test (taken within the previous two weeks) and pass an active screening questionnaire.
Visits are limited to one booking per week, and last for 30 minutes. Social distancing is observed, surgical masks must be worn, and embracing is prohibited.
Nick says that in order to visit Ruth every week, he will have to get a new COVID-19 test every two weeks to stay current.
But for him, it’s all worth it.
“She hasn’t changed. I still love her,” Nick said with a laugh. “I’m willing to do that. It was all well worth it.”
“He’s a keeper. I won’t loan him out to nobody,” Ruth joked.
Gaja Damas, director of program support and volunteer services, says the IOOF’s priority is to make sure everybody stays safe.
“We want to try to reunite people and witness these beautiful exchanges between people who haven’t seen each other in so long,” said Damas.
Overall, Nick said he feels this is a step in the right direction.
“We’re very pleased we have this available to us,” he said. “We’re hoping that, down the road, we could even go further than that and go back to visiting in her room.”
