A husband and wife married for 64 years have been placed in separate B.C. nursing homes, despite the urging of the man's doctor.
Every day for the past year, 89-year-old Douglas Bamford has visited his wife Irene, travelling from his assisted living complex in Tsawwassen to a care facility down the road.
"You see that scooter there? I come sun or hail or whatever," he told CTV British Columbia.
Health authorities separated the couple because Bamford does not require the same level of care as his wife.
But Bamford's physician has written a letter urging health officials to keep the couple together, while his daughter has said his condition is worsening.
"He has Parkinson's disease, he's been treated for cancer and he's deteriorating day by day," said Claire Bamford. "He's getting weaker and weaker."
Irene is also concerned for her husband.
"It's not been too easy. I worry about him because he has Parkinson's and he's a little on the shaky side," she said.
Bamford usually stays by his wife's side from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Thursday marks the couple's 65th wedding anniversary -- although for the second year they will have to spend the night apart.
"I would quit existing if I couldn't be here 90 per cent of the time with my wife," said Bamford.
The Fraser Health Authority plans to reassess Bamford's condition in the next few days, to see if he qualifies to live in the same care home as his wife.
But Irene said the government should always ensure elderly couples stay together.
"I would like to say to (Premier Gordon Campbell) would he like to do this to his wife or his mother?" she said. "How would they like it?"
Last year, another couple separated into different care facilities ended in grief, and has brought condemnation by their family.
Like the Bamfords, Fred Kreklau and his wife Alexandrine had been together for more than five decades.
But months after the health care system separated the pair, Fred Kreklau's condition deteriorated. His daughter said he eventually died of a broken heart.
"One institution here, one over there. It's not what I call humane, and it's not what I call looking after our seniors," said Angela Howe.
With reports by CTV British Columbia's Jim Beatty and Dave Lefebvre
