Friends please read! This is The saddest photo I have ever taken. This is my Omi and my Opi. As you can see they are both wiping away tears! But why? It was taken in Surrey at Yale road, a transitional facility for people waiting to get into nursing homes, that's where my Opi is! After 62 years together in marriage they have been separated for 8 months due to backlogs and delays by our health care system, whom have the power to have my grandpa moved to the same care facility as my grandmother. They cry every time they see each other, and it is heartbreaking. To make it worse, TODAY he was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Besides that limiting his time and making this more urgent, His Dementia is growing ever stronger each day, but his memory of my grandmother has not faded a inch...yet. We are afraid however that if they are living apart much longer, his memory of her won't stay. This has been a strain on our family, making the 30 minute commute to bring her to see him, every second day, so he does not forget her. Now with the news of cancer, our fight to have them in the same facility is even more urgent. He isn't even getting proper care where he is, including no physical therapy which we were promised (the only reason he is in a wheelchair is because it has been 8 months of no walking!!) They deserve this! Financially, physically and emotionally exhausted, me and my family are begging for your help my friends. We have contacted our local MLA, called Fraser Health and done in person inquiries, but none of our questions and concerns have been answered. We want justice for my grandparents who after 62 years together deserve to spend their last moments in the same building. Please share this and tag anyone that needs to see this post to get the help we need! @fraserhealthauthority
(CNN) A photo posted online showing an elderly couple holding hands and crying has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.
The reason is more heart-wrenching than the picture.
Wolf and Anita Gottschalk of Surrey, B.C, have been married for 62 years. But they were admitted into separate nursing homes and, for the last eight months, have been forced to live apart.
Every other day, a member of their family, usually their granddaughter Ashley Bartyik, drives the 40 minutes so they can see each other.
Heartbreaking: The granddaughter wrote this is the saddest photo she has ever taken. (Photo courtesy of CNN)
Every time it’s time to say goodbye, there are tears.
“It’s an emotional outburst from both of them,” Bartyik told CNN.
Bartyik, 29, cares for the Gottschalks full time. She posted a picture of the distressing routine on Facebook hoping to attract the attention of her local community. But the post has been shared thousands of times and has gained international attention.
Gottschalk was placed into Yale Road Centre in January after suffering from congestive heart failure. His wife, Anita, 81, lives in a home 40 minutes away. Since then, Bartyik says, “it’s been a waiting game to get him placed.” They are pleading with healthcare authority Fraser Health to reunite the couple.
“We want justice for my grandparents who after 62 years together deserve to spend their last moments in the same building,” her post reads.
Wolf Gottschalk, 83, suffers from dementia and was also diagnosed with lymphoma this week. Though the memory of his wife has not faded, Ashley is afraid it eventually will.
“The time is ticking now more than ever before,” she told CNN.
“This is a heartbreaking situation for the family, and it’s quite upsetting for us as well,” a spokeswoman for Fraser said, “We are committed to reuniting the couple and we hope to do so within the next few weeks.”
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