An elderly husband and wife who have been forced to live apart will be reunited in time for their 70th wedding anniversary.
A lack of available beds in long-term care homes have meant Clarence and Jessie Terpstra have been separated into different care facilities for months.
Jessie is in a facility in St. Catherines, Ont. and 30 kilometres away, Clarence is in a home in Grimbsy, Ont.
The separation was the first time the couple in their 90’s have lived apart and according to relatives, it has put an emotional strain on their relationship.
“We go to mom and she’s crying because she’s not with dad,” the Terpstra’s daughter Helen Postma told CTV Toronto earlier this month. “We go to dad and he doesn’t understand why they can’t just bring a bed in his room.”
After hearing the elderly couple’s story, the local Community Care Access Centre and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins stepped in to find a free bed. Now the couple will be back under one roof in a matter of days.
“When we look at long-term care homes or retirement homes, they are homes first and foremost,” says Hoskins.
“It’s so important that couples are able to stay together in their home, even though the nature of that home may change over their lifetime.”
