Golden Wedding Anniversary couple reunited after four months apart

Leanne Bell, from Sacriston in Durham has praised the team at Donwell House Care Home as her grandparents were reunited for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown came into effect.

Colin and Sheila Roseberry, aged 81 and 83, are both residents at the Washington care home but strict rules around the pandemic meant there were kept apart.

Sheila has been a resident since December 2017 after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Granddaughter Leanne has explained how difficult the past three years have been for the family.

She said: “It has really hard, especially when she was diagnosed, but we knew that something was not right with her.

“As soon as we found out she wasn’t well, she was admitted to the care home and I took on the role of looking after my grandad.

“My gran used to do everything for him so I was having to clean, cook and take him to his appointments to make his life as easy as possible.”

Unfortunately, former bus driver Colin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and in March suffered a fall which resulted in him breaking his back.

He had an operation on March 23 however the Covid-19 pandemic made it difficult to place him into care for him to continue his recovery.

The staff at Donwell House Care Home knew Colin well as he visited Shelia every day before his fall and the team fought to ensure that he was placed with them and he was moved in.

Leanne has thanked the staff for their efforts, especially during a time as difficult as the coronavirus lockdown.

She added: “I had to explain to the staff what was happening, but obviously he couldn’t see my gran and they were keeping me updated on how she was.

“The social workers and staff fought so hard to get him into the care home and I just want to thank them for all they have done.

“I’ll be eternally grateful to them as they have been amazing for both my gran and grandad, everyone has been excellent.”

The couple, from Chester-le-Street, were reunited on for the first time in four months on Tuesday, June 16 and granddaughter Leanne was overjoyed by the moment.

They are now looking forward to celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in August.

Leanne said: “I’m just so glad that they are together and it now means they can see each other whenever they want.

“We are hoping to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on August 23. Hopefully lockdown restrictions will have eased even further by then.

“My husband is a singer and we are hoping get a bit of a gathering together so we can celebrate with them both.

“Even if their health problems mean they can’t recognise each other, I want to give something back to them for always looking after me.”

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