Coronavirus: Kingston, Ont. couple home safe after being stranded in Spain

A Kingston, Ont., couple stranded in Spain last month as countries across the globe reacted to the growing novel coronavirus outbreak has now made it home safe and sound.

After weeks of struggle and isolation, 77-year-old Suki Falkner and husband 86-year-old Fred Colwell say they can now breathe a sigh of relief.

They’ve also completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine without any COVID-19 symptoms.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be home,” says Falkner.

Falkner says “It’s a miracle” that they didn’t contract the virus while visiting Grenada, Spain.

She says COVID-19 was present in Spain at the time they were visiting, however, they didn’t think to leave until outbreaks started to occur.

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Colwell said once restaurants, grocery stores and even their own hotel were closing down, they knew they had to make a break for home.

While boarding a train in Grenada for Barcelona, Falkner took a hard fall and suffered a broken hip. She ended up in the local hospital for weeks.

During her recovery in hospital, the couple struggled to make arrangements to fly out of Spain — the country was in lockdown.

“We were just feeling… terrible terrible helplessness,” says Falkner.

With help from Global Affairs Canada, the couple was given half-an-hour to pack up their items and leave. They had to be airlifted by ambulance back to Kingston, Ont.

Now out of self-isolation, the couple is happy to be back at home, adjusting to a new normal. Falkner is trying to continue with physiotherapy and has recovered well from her hip replacement surgery.

“Fred is devoting himself to housework, he feeds me and we are getting along… He’s very good to me,” Falkner says.

While unable to go grocery shopping or do laundry in their building while they were stuck in quarantine, the couple received support from their family and friends, who brought them food and supplies.

Looking back, the couple says they couldn’t have made it back without help from their insurance company and especially their travel agent.

Falkner says her agent never gave up on them, “She would say ‘be strong. More is happening. I will get to work on it.'”

Despite the ordeal, the couple says they don’t regret going to Spain, however, when asked how they feel about travelling again, Colwell laughed saying, ” the next time will be to Napanee.”