Barry Locke and his granddaughters share a special connection—and just as a cord of many threads remains strong under tension, they are finding ways to remain close even during these times of social distancing. Barry’s three granddaughters are continuing their regular visits to Niverville Credit Union Manor to see their grandpa.
They just don’t step foot inside.
Throughout the week, the girls walk up to the building and then use their cell phones to call him. Barry then views the girls through the large windows in his room. They all say their connection is strengthened because of the proximity and being able to see one another, even if they cannot be together in person.
“They were coming pretty near once a week,” says Barry. “Sometimes one is working or the other can’t be off at the same time. One is still in school. But before this bad stuff happened, they would take me out for coffee and a tart or something quite often… I miss them terribly. We’ve been so close through their young lives and before my wife passed away they would come and visit us and stay overnight or come for supper or take us out for supper. We’ve been very, very close and we still are very close. It makes me feel so good that they make the effort to still come and visit.”
On March 17, the province mandated the immediate suspension of visitors in long-term care facilities across Manitoba to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Exceptions for compassionate reasons or end-of-life care are being made on a case-by-case basis.
Barry says that he and the other residents understand why this is necessary. “It’s a very difficult thing, but I think they’re doing a very good job, and I dearly hope that we can keep it out of here. We’re hoping that it’s not going to spread in the manor here. So far we’re all right, but we don’t want to see anyone get sick.”
Granddaughter Cory, and her sisters Jesse and Megan, also understand the necessity of taking precautions to prevent vulnerable persons from getting sick.
“It’s sad that we cannot go and actually sit with him,” says Cory. “But I’d rather have to do this than go in and get somebody actually sick with the virus. It’s hard, but at least we don’t worry.”
Barry says he and his fellow residents are keeping busy, encouraging each other not only to continue following the protocols but to stick together. They enjoy taking their meals together and staying active by going for walks around the upstairs walkways of the Heritage Centre.
Walking is something residents don’t have to give up, but Barry is being asked to give up something even more special to him: his birthday party.
“My birthday falls on March 30, and we had big plans, but they all have to be cancelled now,” he says. “I’m happy to talk to the newspaper because I want to get people to know it’s my birthday and I want them to say happy birthday! I hope I get lots of phone calls. I’m a child at heart.”
For some residents in care homes or assisted living, visitors are necessarily rare these days.
“Some of the comments you hear from the residents are sad,” says Terry Dowse, healthcare aide at NCU Manor. “Even the ones who do have visitors can’t have them anymore. We’re in lockdown. It’s been very hard. It’s been heartbreaking… When I heard [Barry[s] granddaughters were coming to visit him, but they can’t come inside, I thought this was so heartwarming. He waits for them to come. They come, with the dog even sometimes, and then chat with him on the phone. In all this horribleness, there’s a light that shines here. These stories bring us happiness in a time when it’s not so happy. We need to hear the good.”
Cory has a message for anyone feeling the strain of staying at a distance from the ones we love: “There’s always some sort of way, you’ve just got to be able to create it and figure it out. For us, standing in the parking lot and waving is better than not doing anything. You have to be creative and just keep on visiting the people we love. You have to be creative and find a way.”