Gananoque mother and daughter stay connected despite COVID-19 safety measures

Not even the coronavirus pandemic can break the bond between a mother and daughter.

Since the pandemic began, it’s been a familiar sight to see Estelle Nicholls standing outside her mother’s window at the Carveth Care Centre in Gananoque, Ont. Nicholls says she and her 88-year-old mom Jeannette Hudson have a strong relationship, and so she has been making the effort to go see her mom through the window every day since visitation was suspended to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“We are so close, we’ve had our ups and downs like anybody else … I love my mom and I know she loves me and yeah, we are close that’s for sure.”

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A week or so ago, Nicholls couldn’t make it to her mom’s window because she was ill, so the staff stepped in and helped keep the two in touch by posting a video of Hudson singing one of her favourite songs.

Nicholls says her mother loves music.

“She’s French Canadian-background and La Vie En Rose was one of her favourites and that’s one of the songs that she just seems to remember the words and that’s what she’ll start singing.”

Something new for Nicholls and others is an orange line painted on the grass outside the windows at the centre. Those coming to make a connection with a loved one are now being asked to stay six feet back.

Nicholls says that’s just fine.

“Of course everybody worries but it is peace of mind knowing that they’re doing due diligence, they’re locking it down to keep this thing out and that’s critical and that makes me as a family member feel better.”

Brett Gibson, the owner and operator of Carveth Care Centre, says his team is doing all they can to keep residents safe, and connected with their loved ones.

“We have a lot of responsibility on our hands and what’s going on with COVID-19 right now it’s a battle that we don’t know how to fight a hundred per cent.

“We’re trying to do everything in our measures to go above and beyond the standards to protect the people that we love and that’s the residents and our homes.”

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Despite COVID-19 barriers, music continues to be a bond that keeps a Gananoque mother and daughter connected during these troubled times.