BOTWOOD — In the days leading up to Mother’s Day, Trudy Stuckless did as she always did.
She bought flowers for her father, retired Salvation Army officer Maj. James Cooper, as a way to ease the pain he still feels after losing his wife, Evelyn, a decade ago.
“Mother’s Day has always been sad because our mom died about 10 years ago and before that she had Alzheimer’s for about 15 years,” said Stuckless. “He has sort of been our mom and dad for the last 25 years, so I always bring flowers on Mother’s Day just to brighten up his day.”
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As the province moved toward entering the fourth stage of its plan to ease lockdown restrictions put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stuckless felt she would be able to deliver them to the Killick Retirement Home in Botwood, where her 88-year-old father resides.
On Friday, Central Health issued an advisory that for one day only they would accept Mother’s Days gifts at its acute care facilities. Those gifts could include cards, clothing, food and flowers.
Stuckless believed this would apply to the Killick centre as well, which is a privately owned facility run by Lane’s Retirement Living, but that was not the case.
When she called to arrange a time to drop off her father’s flowers, she was told they were accepting cards, but not gifts or flowers.
The Killick Retirement Centre is in close proximity to the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre, which has long-term and acute care capabilities, which allowed gifts under the directive from Central Health.
“I think it's unfair and, really, you’re not thinking about the mental and emotional health of these residents at this time,” said Stuckless.
When she contacted management, Stuckless was told the group felt bringing gifts other than cards was too high of a risk for them to take.
Heading into the Mother's Day weekend, Lanes Retirement Living and the Killick home were given a choice to either follow the province or continue with their own guidelines.
"They gave us the option to navigate that as we saw fit," said Lanes Retirement Living vice-president of operations Andrew Holm. "We deliberated and had numerous conversations one way or the other and we said, at the end of the day, if all goes well, we'll have packages in the home soon enough.
"Let's not find a way around it for Mother's Day. Let's stay the course because we are so close to being COVID-free. We felt that was the best decision to make."
Lanes has properties across the province and it has provided unique services to residents since the pandemic restrictions took effect. Along with window visits, it has tablets in every building to allow residents to FaceTime with their relatives.
On Mother's Day, there was a balloon release for residents.
A registered nurse, Stuckless has previously served as the chief nursing officer for Central Health. In that role, she was responsible for infection control, pandemic planning, and population and public health.
She understood the reasons why the province’s restrictions are in place.
“I just wanted to bring some flowers and I was told by people that I trust that it was safe to do.”
With Mother’s Day in the past, Stuckless fears there is a chance she will lose the ability to visit on Father’s Day or do other activities as the province progresses through its five-stage easeback.
“My fear for my dad and for the residents of Killick is that once the next little relaxation comes, for example, if we’re allowed to take them out for a drive in our car in a few weeks' time, will Lanes say, ‘No, none of our residents are allowed to go out because it is too high a risk’?” she said. “When are they going to trust what our public health officials are saying and stop undermining them?”
Like the rest of the province, Holm is keeping track of the daily coronavirus updates from the provincial government and is encouraged by what he sees.
The positive news being relayed by Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Premier Dwight Ball and Health Minister Dr. John Haggie and others makes Holm believe Lanes' properties could allow packages to be delivered to residents soon.
"We're in alert four now and we're nearing the two-week mark that they've made the double bubble a reality, so I could see us at least proposing something very soon to health authorities," said Holm.
Stuckless will ensure her father gets to see the flowers she intended to deliver on Mother’s Day.
She has purchased a small flower cone that sticks in the ground and as soon as the weather allows, she will plant the cone in front of
her father’s window at the retirement centre.
“It didn’t occur to me that they would decide that (delivering flowers) wasn’t OK,” said Stuckless.
Nicholas Mercer is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering Central Newfoundland for Saltwire Network
