BOSTON, MA (Via CNN Newsource) For the first time in a long time, families are finally getting to visit their loved ones in nursing home facilities in Massachusetts.
For the first time in two and a half months, Bobby Pace got to see his mother face-to-face at Sea View Retreat in Rowley.
“I said ‘hey mom,’ “Pace said. “It’s me. Bobby. And she smiled.”
A smile he has missed from his mother, who has dementia. Today, no hugging or kissing, but a connection finally.
“Once I started talking to her, calling her name, then she remembered,” Pace said. “Then she remembered. She kept saying ‘I love you, I love you.’”
For the first time since the outbreak, nursing homes that can provide an open space can facilitate family visits with proper social distancing.
For Maria Serena, this is the first time she’s been allowed out in two months. She’s been confined to her room.
“I talk to myself, and tell myself this isn’t forever,” Serena said.
It’s being called a game changer for nursing home residents. Only two family members can visit at a time, and they have to have an appointment and come wearing a mask.
Serena said it’s been lonely with no communal meals or games, and until now she’s been allowed only phone calls from her sons.
“I have anxiety and, you know, alone that adds to it a little,” Serena said.
“No doubt, it’s bringing her back a little,” Pace said.
Pace said he was worried his mother was confused and felt abandoned. But his daily visits will now be a breath of fresh air.
State officials issued the new guidelines allowing for the visits at a time when states across the US are easing restrictions put in place to deal with the coronavirus.
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