Sudbury couple married 67 years worried 'one of us is going to die and we're not together yet'
Woman, 88, still waiting in hospital for space to open up in long-term care home where her husband, 91, lives
For the first time in their 67-year marriage, Hildegard Adler won't be spending Valentine's Day with her husband, Gottfried.
"Oh, we were always together," the 88-year-old mused from her Sudbury hospital bed.
Following a broken pelvis, Hildegard has been in the hospital for almost seven months, waiting to be placed in the same long-term care home — Finlandia Village — as her 91-year-old husband.
In January, their daughters, Helga Leblanc and Linda Adler, told CBC News that both Hildegard and Gottfried use wheelchairs and suffer from dementia.
"It's difficult for them to understand what's going on," said Linda Adler.
Leblanc said the physical and emotional toll of the continued forced separation on both of her parents has been immense.
"My dad mentioned to me last week, he said, 'I'm really concerned one of us is going to die and we're not together yet.'"
Leblanc said she and her sister are seeking a meeting with Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins to ask him to intervene personally.
"The Minister's going to have to tell Sudbury [authorities], 'Place her'. If that doesn't happen, it's not going to happen."
In an email to CBC News, a Local Health Integration Network spokesperson said there are 10 to 12 people in Sudbury seeking spousal reunification, and stressed the organization can't arbitrarily move patients up or down the waiting list.
According to the LHIN, the highest priority is those in crisis living outside of the hospital. Patients in long-term care at the hospital receive the second-highest priority designation.
For Hildegard, she just hopes that she'll be reunited in a home with Gottfried soon.
"Oh, I remember the old country and all that you know, and the family at home we had, so of course it's different."
"Well, it's hard."
With files from Benjamin Aubé