INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Heartbreaking Photo Of Elderly Couple Forced To Separate After 62 Years Of Marriage Draws Attention

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 23:26 PST, Aug 26, 2016

Wolfram, 83, and Anita Gottschalk, 81, of Surrey, British Columbia, have been inseparable in their 62 years of marriage. But since Wolfram was diagnosed with congenital heart failure earlier this year, the two had no choice but to live in separate nursing homes, the Huffington Post reports.

With Wolfram’s health condition taking a turn for the worse, Anita was told her husband requires professional support. Wolfram was transferred to a place called Yale Road.

“Grandma has taken pride in taking care of him for years, so it was heartbreaking for her,” the elderly couple’s granddaughter Ashley Bartyik said.

After a few months, Anita decided to move into a nursing home close to Yale Road so she can be with her husband.

Anita was moved into Residence at Morgan Heights in South Surrey, a 40-minute drive away from Yale Road. The couple was looking forward to the day Wolfram gets transferred to Morgan Heights. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this week. With his failing health, Wolfram’s chances of being moved into the same health care facility as Anita’s have been dashed.

The Canadian couple need to see each other frequently on account of Wolfram’s dementia. If kept separated for too long, there’s the risk that Wolfram’s memories of Anita may be erased forever. To prevent this from happening, the elderly couple’s family have been taking Anita to Yale Road to visit Wolfram every other day for the past eight months. This, however, is putting a financial and emotional strain on the family.

So far, while Wolfram’s dementia continues to slowly wipe away his memories, his memory of Anita “hasn’t faded an inch,” according to Bartyik.

“His dementia is bad but he still remembers her, which is what we’re trying to hold on to,” she said. “We don’t know if you put a few more days in there if he’ll forget. Right now he calls her name out when he sees her, he’s so excited and has his moments of clarity when he sees her.”

Earlier this week, Ashley shared on Facebook what she called “the saddest photo I have ever taken,” showing the image of an elderly couple — Wolfram in a wheelchair and Anita on a couch — wiping away their tears, apparently missing each other after being separated. The photo was taken in a recent visit, which is just one of the many visits Anita and Bartyik have been paying Wolfram for the past eight months. All the previous visits were as tearful as the one shown in the photo that went viral earlier this week.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153881147493295&set=a.10150258592333295.323720.500983294&type=3&permPage=1

“It’s like that every time,” Bartyik said. “Every time when they first see each other, they cry. Then they generally have a really good time. We bring him snacks. But when it comes time to leave, he wonders why he can’t come with us and we have to try and distract him or make up an excuse.”

Not long after Ashley’s Facebook photo went viral, the Fraser Health Authority released a statement saying that they are working on reuniting the couple.

“One of the challenges with couple reunification is that they don’t necessarily need the same level of care at the same time. In this case, the husband’s care needs are considerably higher than his wife’s. He needs residential care while his wife needs assisted living care. This means we need to make sure the facility can accommodate both their needs.

“Also, when there is a preference for a particular community or facility, it significantly reduces our options for placement and can increase the wait for placement.

“We continue to work to reunite this couple and hope to do so in the next few weeks.”

[Image via Shutterstock]

Share this article: Heartbreaking Photo Of Elderly Couple Forced To Separate After 62 Years Of Marriage Draws Attention
More from Inquisitr