Staff at a Hamilton hospice are pleading for the return of a “guardian angel” that was taken from a seasonal display in front of the building over the weekend.
Maria Bau-Coote, director of Good Shepherd’s Emmanuel House, said she first noticed one of the five Christmas angel decorations that sit in front of the building on Stinson Street was missing when she drove past the hospice on Monday morning.
“There was this blank spot,” said Bau-Coote. “And my heart just sank, because I thought, ‘Oh no, something’s happened’.”
The guardian angel statues were a new addition to the front of the hospice this year and have only been there since the beginning of December.
Bau-Coote said they wanted to do something special to mark the holidays in light of the difficult year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s not just for our residents and loved ones that come here, but it’s for our neighbourhood as well, to give them a reason to have a bit of hope, to have some beauty.”
The statues are “cumbersome” to put together and take apart, according to Bau-Coote, so the person who wanted to take it would have been determined.
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“For someone to come and actually take one, it is difficult, it’s not easy to just pick up and walk with one of these,” said Bau-Coote.
“My hope is that the individual really fell in love with these angels and just loved it, and wanted it for their own home … or it was somebody who thought they’re just going to do something and damage and vandalize an angel, which, I’m not sure who would want to do that. But … it’s sad, and it’s very disheartening.”
The pandemic has made things even more difficult for palliative residents who are receiving care at the end of their life, and Bau-Coote said the guardian angel statues are meant to provide a small bit of joy to those residents at the 10-bed facility.
“For Emmanuel House, we’ve gone from a place where it’s basically open 24/7, you (could) have whole families come or loved ones and neighbours, unlimited amount of visitors … and of course, that’s all stopped.”
Visiting hours are restricted and residents are only permitted to have two essential visitors who must wear full personal protective equipment — and there’s no hugging allowed anymore.
“Sometimes … there are no words, and all you can do is hold their hand, or give them a hug to try and make them feel better. All that’s gone away now.”
Emmanuel House was struck by a COVID-19 outbreak in April, which infected seven staff and three residents, who eventually passed away.
Bau-Coote said those residents didn’t officially die from COVID-19 but said the illness probably “expedited” their death.
“Even doing our due diligence then, we are so much more aware and cautious now because we definitely don’t want another outbreak. So then that means we are even more strict.”
With so little access to the outside world in their last moments, the guardian angel statues have been a source of comfort and joy for residents since their installation a few weeks ago — so losing one has been “disheartening and disappointing”, said Bau-Coote.
The statue is described as being five-feet-two-inches tall and made up of three parts.
Hamilton police have not been notified, said Bau-Coote, because she’s hopeful that the person who took the statue will quietly return it once they realized how much it’s missed.
“If the person could just realize that these are just not simply Christmas decorations. There’s much more meaning behind them. They’re the house’s guardian angels.”
Anyone who has any information about its whereabouts is asked to call 905-308-8401 or send an email to mbaucoote@gsch.ca.
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