The moment a Derbyshire woman is reunited with her 103-year-old mum after a year apart because of coronavirus

Christine Radford was this week allowed to go inside The Heights Care Home in New Tupton to be with her mum Gladys Wildman, who recently celebrated her birthday.

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New Government guidance came into force last week, giving one nominated visitor the chance to regularly see their loved one inside their care home.

Christine, 73, of North Wingfield, said: “On Wednesday I was allowed to visit my lovely mum in her care home after a year of not being able to see her – apart from on photographs.

“After having my lateral flow test which was negative, I was given gloves, a mask and apron and accompanied to her room.

“She was then brought to me in her chair.

“At first it was difficult because she showed me no signs of recognition but I held her hands and talked to her, telling her how we were all going to see her soon.

“I even sang her a belated happy birthday to you!

“Gradually she seemed to be taking notice of me and holding tight on to my hands.

“Because she has dementia the year has taken its toll.

“It is apparent that mentally she has deteriorated but by the end of my visit she was enjoying a cup of tea and seemed to be paying more attention to me and trying to communicate.

“Now she is 103 I hope that we can make up for the lost, last year in some way and that soon all the family can visit her.”

Staff at The Heights described Christine and Gladys’s reunion as a ‘very special moment for us all’.

Tracey Turner, manager at The Heights, said: “It has been terribly hard to see our elderly residents have little or no contact with their loved ones for over a year.

“We have done our utmost to ensure that communication has been maintained as much as possible.

“iPads delivered by Jigsaw24 have been an asset to connect families visually – but there is no substitute for seeing our loved ones face-to-face.

“Now that Government guidelines are permitting us to reintroduce visitors into the home, the emotion seen is absolutely overwhelming sometimes.”

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A message from Phil Bramley, Derbyshire Times editor

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