CINCINNATI — All throughout the pandemic, nursing homes and extended care facilities have been on strict visitation guidelines—if visitations were allowed at all. For Alzheimer’s patients, not seeing loved ones regularly can cause confusion or lead to a decline.
Becky Vaske has been making sure she regularly visits with her mother Dorothy despite the challenging circumstances.
“My mom has Alzheimer’s,” Vaske said. “She actually has vascular dementia, which is a part of Alzheimer’s.”
But the visits have boundaries—a literal wall. Vaske says she’s been having to talk to her mom through a window, which she said has been very tough to deal with.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” she said. “It’s heart-wrenching because you know she’s scared and confused. And a familiar face lights her up a little bit. But she still at times doesn’t know where she is or why she’s here.”
She said seeing her mom is great, and she’s thankful she can at least chat through the window, but having no contact has her feeling out of touch.
Photo courtesy of Becky Vaske
“Not being able to go in there and just make sure she’s okay, touch her, sit with her while she eats,” she said. “Give her a fudgesicle and give her a foot rub, which she loves, is heart-wrenching.”
But thanks to an update in the state’s coronavirus guidelines, she and many other Ohioans, will be able to visit in-person with loved ones Oct. 12.
“She said she couldn’t wait to hug me, and sit with me and talk to me,” Vaske said.
And while there will still be some restrictions in place when they get to meet in-person again—Becky and her mother are looking forward to that day.
“I just like to see my mom smile every day. So whether it’s FaceTime or at the window, if she smiles, it just warms my heart.”
With visitations starting back up new guidelines will be in place to continue to protect senior communities from potential outbreaks of COVID-19. For a look at best practices for visitors visit ALZ.org.
