'The greatest gift': Son recounts holding COVID-recovered mom's hand for 1st time in 7 months

It's a situation many people can relate to right now: an elderly parent in a nursing home where visitation is strictly limited, glimpsed through a window. Untouchable.

After seven months apart from his mother and many visits on the other side of that window, Brian Albert finally broke through that divide recently. He was happy to do so — even if it took his mother winding up in the hospital.

Marie Albert, 98, is a resident of the Parkside Extendicare private nursing home in Regina. For days, Marie sat alone in a room as 43 other residents who were infected with COVID-19 ultimately died. 

Marie became infected too, but recovered. Not that her health hasn't been touch and go at times since she was moved into the home two years ago, Brian said. 

"The last time it was quite bad so that I'd actually gone to a cemetery and had a priest over and the whole nine yards," he said.

Brian still wasn't allowed to see her because during the outbreak, which was only declared over last week, residents were isolated to their rooms and no visitors were allowed except for residents who were dying.

More recently, Marie required antibiotics for a different infection and needed to be admitted to Pasqua Hospital so the medicine could be administered intravenously. 

That was Brian's ticket in, as the province allows one essential family member or support person for every patient admitted to a hospital. 

"It's terrible that she has to go to the hospital, but because she's in a hospital, it's the first time in seven months that I got to go and hold my mom's hand, kiss her on the forehead," Brian said.

"And if you saw her when she woke up and seen me holding her hand, I mean, that's the greatest gift I could ever get. I can't even get my hand back when I'm holding her."

Among Marie's first requests? A McDonald's hamburger, Brian said. 

"I'm up there two or three times a day. She's doing a little bit better."

Other provinces such as Ontario and B.C. are allowing essential visitors to receive early access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Asked whether that's being explored here in Saskatchewan, a spokesperson for the province's Ministry of Health said the focus remains on vaccinating nursing home residents, seniors older than 70, residents of northern Saskatchewan and front-line health workers. Brian is in his 60s.

"We are reviewing vaccine expansion plans," the spokesperson said. "Recent news of drastic reductions in delivery of Pfizer vaccine to Saskatchewan and resulting scarcity of supply will be factored in to these plans."

Brian said he's torn about the idea of getting the vaccine early.

"I do have great empathy for these people that work in these care homes and the doctors and everybody like that. Should I get ahead of somebody like that?" he pondered.

"I would probably agree to do it. Obviously that's a selfish answer. If it was just me, I would say no, but because it's my mom, I would say yes."