CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A woman whose mother is in end-of-life care in Joliet is pleading with the elder-care industry to come up with a solution that will allow families to better communicate with loved ones being kept in isolation.
When Sue Markgraf was last able to sit and hold her mother’s hand last week, she explained what was happening, and she said her mother, who has dementia, was trying to understand.
Now, she wonders if she’ll hold her hand again.
"That family member on the other side of the window cannot sit and hold that resident's hand and that's what the resident needs at the end of their life - to pass with peace, dignity, and grace - not sitting mostly immobile in a wheelchair, which is my mother's case, and looking at us from the side of the window. That breaks her heart," Markgraf said.
She said her father, married to her mother for 61-years, is heart-broken he can’t be with her. Markgraf said the elder-care industry needs to come up with a solution.
"My dad can't hold my mother's hand. He has been married to her for 61 years. It is not acceptible. Our elder-care industry needs to step up to the plate here and own this. I know the country has it's hands full. I know we are all suffering on various levels. This is the elder-care industry and this is 2020," she said.
She said her mother is in a great facilty. She is not pointing fingers. She said she understands and supports the restrictions, but said the industry needs to come up with a solution - something besides FaceTime. Maybe a closed-circuit TV feed that requires no effort by the patient.