Can you imagine how devastated you would be if you were forced to live away from your loved ones?
This happened for one elderly couple who lived in Surrey, Canada, and many people were enraged by the nursing home’s decision to separate them.
Wolf and Anita Gottschalk are the ones who had to go through this painful experience, after being happily married for 62 years.
But, as their health conditions continued to deteriorate, both Wolf and Anita were put in the nursing home.
Tragically, though, the health care facility forced the couple to live separately, saying that the facility did not have enough room.
And this is why Wolf and Anita are crying in the photo – because they want to be with each other.
When the granddaughter of Wolf and Anita, Ashley, found out that her grandparents were being forced to live apart from each other, she was shocked.
Considering their health conditions, Ashley’s grandparents did not have a lot of days left. And, Ashley strongly believed that they should be allowed to make those days count by spending time with each other.
So, to demand the nursing home to allow her grandparents to be together, Ashley wrote the following letter.
Even though she contacted every administrative members of the health care facility, Fraser Healthcare Authority, Ashley reports that she has not gotten the response from any of them.
Here’s an excerpt of Ashley’s letter, which she posted on Facebook:
“After 62 years together in marriage, they have been separated for eight months due to backlogs and delays by our health care system, who has the power to have my grandfather moved to the same care facility as my grandmother.”
“They cry every time they see each other, and it is heartbreaking.
To make it worse, today he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Besides that limiting his time and making this more urgent, his dementia is growing ever stronger each day, but his memory of my grandmother has not faded an inch.. yet.
We are afraid, however, that if they are living apart much longer, his memory of her won’t stay.”
“They deserve this! Financially, physically, and emotionally exhausted, me and my family are begging for your help, my friends.
We want justice for my grandparents who after 62 years of together, deserves to spend their last moments in the same building. Please share this and tag anyone that needs to see this post to get the help we need!”
I can’t believe the facility did not make an effort to let this elderly couple be together!
The officials of the facility should know that visiting each other few times a week isn’t enough for this loving couple.