The family of a critically ill elderly man who is being held in isolation was able to say their final goodbye after firefighters lifted them up to the fourth-floor window of a residential care home.
When Henry Nijhove’s family received the news that their elderly relative was unlikely to live much longer, they were determined to find a way to say goodbye. As reported by the
Daily Mail, Henry, 87, may never have seen his family again due to the stringent lockdown measures if it wasn’t for his granddaughter’s bright idea.
The Anton de Komplein residential care home in the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam, where Henry was residing, is strictly prohibiting visitations for the duration of the lockdown in order to help prevent the spread of the
CCP virus. However, Henry’s sickness was believed to be unrelated to the virus.
The dying patient’s granddaughter, Chanté, desperate to see her grandfather, decided to call the local fire brigade to ask for help in facilitating a visit for Henry.
“I decided to be a bit naughty and contacted the fire brigade,” Chanté told the Amsterdam-based news outlet
AT5. “I didn’t write any fancy letters, I just called them and told them the story.”
The fire service willingly obliged, sending a crew to Henry’s care home on April 15, 2020. The firefighters then lifted family members up to their sick relative’s fourth-floor window in pairs in a cherry picker. The unique solution allowed the family to spend several hours in close proximity with Henry, communicating through the transparency of the window.
“I have no words to express how grateful I am that this was even possible,” Chanté reflected, “and that we were allowed to do this.” According to the
Mirror, Chanté revealed that her family had not been able to visit with Henry since March 19 due to lockdown measures implemented to stop the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
Henry’s daughter, Mildred, also expressed gratitude for having the opportunity to be able to see her father one last time. “This was pretty much the only way he could see his grandchildren again,” Mildred told
AT5.
According to Chanté, the family would have preferred to give their beloved patriarch a kiss and one last hug, but she also cherished the farewell that was possible during these unprecedented times, adding it was “better than nothing.”
“I'd rather have this than video calling because here he can still see that you are physically there,” said Chanté. “It’s like I said, we are a really close family, and my grandfather is really everything to us.”
The Dutch authorities estimate that approximately one-third of nursing homes in the Netherlands have seen at least one case of the CCP virus among their residents, as reported by the country’s
National Institute for Public Health. As of April 16, the virus is acknowledged to be spreading within nursing homes.
Despite the spread, and despite the lockdown restrictions, Henry’s family still managed to share a final goodbye with their beloved relative thanks to a lot of determination, a little imagination, and a team of sympathetic firefighters.
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