Staff at a Birmingham care home have shared the heartwarming moment a couple in their 90s were reunited after being separated by coronavirus restrictions.
Kenneth and Betty Meredith, formerly of Northfield, have been married for 71 years.
Former Austin Rover foreman Kenneth, 96, became a resident of Bourn View Care Home in Bournville a month ago. He missed his beloved wife and didn’t know when he’d able to see her again, due to the current restrictions.
Little did he know that 91 year old Betty, unwilling to be seperated from her husband, had made the decision to move into the Avery Healthcare home too!
For the last week before their reunion, unbeknown to Kenneth, Betty’s phone calls from ‘home’ were actually from within the care home – in the room where she was isolating, awaiting a negative COVID-19 test result to give her the all clear to join the home’s ‘bubble’.
Staff and family members kept the secret perfectly and, once Betty had her negative result, a romantic surprise reunion meal was set up for the devoted pair in the home’s restaurant; complete with red roses, scattered petals and an array of love heart balloons.
When elated Kenneth spotted his wife, he darted straight towards her with his wheeled walking aid, breaking in to a jog Captain Tom Moore would have been proud of!
As the loving couple shared an emotional hug to the strains of the Vera Lynn classic ‘We’ll Meet Again’, Kenneth asked his wife: “Have you come to get me?”
“No” replied Betty, “I’ve moved in! It’s you and me, are you happy? All these kind people have done all this for us.”
Now back sharing the same home, Betty put it perfectly, saying they are now back “together, forever”.
And reportedly there was not one dry eye as the Bourn View staff cheered and celebrated the wonderful couple’s touching reunion.
Bourn View Well-being and Activities Co-ordinator, Rosie Boshell, said, “When I heard Betty was moving in and her family had asked for a video of their reunion, I wanted to make it extra special for them, decorating our restaurant and arranging a romantic meal.
“It was so emotional and heart-warming to see; everyone was in tears of happiness and joy for them!”
We wish Kenneth and Betty a very happy reunion and long may it continue!