Much has been said about a mother’s love for her children and recent events in Germany are proof that this bond does not deteriorate with age.
Just like Australia, German aged care facilities have been closed to visitors over the last two weeks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but one elderly resident decided that a lockdown would not stop her from wishing her daughter a happy birthday in-person.
The 101-year-old woman’s plan of escape started well enough, as she managed to flee the nursing home through an emergency exit door, but things started to unravel when police were called.
Unfortunately for the escapee, police in the German suburb of Brunswick foiled her plot as she was trying to identify her daughter’s home amongst the other homes in the local area.
The elderly woman then tried her luck at tricking police officers, claiming that she lived with her daughter and simply forgot how to get home – but officers had their suspicions about her cover story.
In an interview with a German magazine, the woman’s daughter explained that her elderly mother had only moved into the nursing home a few weeks prior to the lockdown and that she had been “missing her daughter terribly.”
Thankfully, police did bring the elderly woman to the home of her daughter, but she was forced to send her birthday wishes through the glass window of a police care due to social distancing measures.
Although this bittersweet ending is a stark reminder of the difficulties that can arise with isolation, the deaths of 22 elderly nursing home residents in a nearby German town are a sobering reminder of why social distancing measures are in place.
Thankfully, the 101-year-old grandmother is now back at the aged care home, and with any luck, she will be reunited with her daughter when it comes time to celebrate her 102nd birthday.
Photo credit – iStock – ivanastar – This photo does not depict persons mentioned within the body of the article.
