Navigating isolation during COVID-19

Navigating isolation during COVID-19

Has gone wrubin spoke with local caregivers who have been navigating covid-19 with their better half in isolation.

Alicia says: gordon michelson and his wife sara have been married for over forty years, going through the ups and downs of life and sara's diagnosis of a rare form of altzheimer's.

Gordon says: parkinson disease dementia which i guess is a form of alzheim's sara is a mother, a wife gordon says: "she's been my strength for 43 years" an extremely talented artt gordon says: "she's done all these paintings in the house" for six years following sara's diagnosis, gordon was her primary cagiver.

Gordon says: "it just got more than i could handle 24-seven" sara went into care at an assisted-living facility in december of last year.

Less than a year later, covid-19 hit and all visitation ended.

Gordon says: "that was really hard on her and she just withdrew" gordon and his family tried a different facility they thought would give her more interactions with other people.

Gordon says: was too much extraneous activity and noise and she just couldn't handle it it was driving her nuts" at the beginning of july, sara was placed in an adult foster care.

Gordon says: "just the other day i visited her out on the patio with our masks" gordon says the hardest part of covid-19 has been not being able to check on sara regularly.

Gordon says: "not being able to be involved it's like are they treating her as well as i would i don't know not that i'm the best"--butted--"that's probably the hardest thing it's kind of like a jail you shut the door and they're in there and oh yeah they'll be out in a few months that's about it" alicia says: gordan says, under current rules - he and sara are allowed to see each other through outdoor meetings but not all facilities are allowing those visits -- coming up tonight on newswatch