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Positive reinforcement for local wife missing husband during COVID-19 crisis

April 9, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

An Orangeville resident separated from her husband during the COVID-19 pandemic has come up with a creative way for the pair to keep in touch, all while putting a few smiles on faces along the way. 

Sara Georgas and her husband, Jim, have been married for 39 years. Back in August 2018, the pair made the difficult decision for Jim to leave their family home and move into Bethsaida Retirement Home on Hillside Drive. Jim had been living with Parkinson’s for the better part of 15 years, and had recently been diagnosed with dementia.

While she had cared for her husband for years, things became too much for Sara to handle all by herself. While the pair no longer live together, they still spend parts of every day in each other’s company. It was important for Sara that, even during the pandemic, with senior residences locked down to the general public, to maintain that level of contact. 

“Of course, with what’s going on now, I can’t go into the home any more. I used to go in there every day to see him, and help out with his meals. But with what’s going on now, I just can’t,” Sara said. 

Instead, Sara has taken to pitching up by one of the retirement home’s windows in the morning, while most of the residents are enjoying their breakfast. She waves, and even talks to some of the residents, including Jim, through the window, but in recent days she has taken to doing something else. 

“I started to make these posters, showing happy messages to try and keep people’s spirits up. I go over there, usually with our dog, and spend time in the morning showing off the posters and saying hi to people,” Sara said. “When I leave, I’ll tape the posters to the window, facing inwards, so the residents can see them.”

So far, Sara has used messages such as ‘you are missed’, ‘you light up my life’, ‘thank you, staff’, ‘we are all family’ and ‘you’ve got a friend in me’. She usually comes up with a new message before she goes to bed at night. Speaking to the Citizen on Monday, she admits she has lots more in the bank. 

“They all seem to like it – I get a lot of thumbs up, and a lot of smiles. It’s nice right now, with things the way they are, to be able to help people smile,” Sara said.

With that in mind, she has reached out to a couple of her friends to see if they would help put on a special Easter show, through the looking glass of course, for residents of Bethsaida. The trio will be singing hymns for the residents, while Sara has put together an Easter basket full of chocolate for the residents. 

“Just a little something more to brighten up their day,” Sara said. 

With her husband having lived at the Bethsaida now for more than 18 months, Sara said she’s been able to see first-hand the level of attention and care the local home gives to its residents on a daily basis. She’s thankful, too, that management at the facility have allowed her morning visits and sign-posting to continue. 

“I’ve been very lucky. The staff at Bethsaida have been fantastic since Jim went in. Before this all happened I used to go in there every day, but now I’m able to speak to him on the phone, and see him in the morning. Sometimes I’ll pop over in the afternoon as well,” Sara said. “It’s a very family-oriented place.”

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