A couple who have spent 62 years of their lives together have been separated because they cannot go into the same care home.
Wolf Gottschalk, 83, and his 81-year-old wife, Anita, met when were teenagers and their families lived in the same apartment block in Dusseldorf, Germany.
They married in 1954 and soon after emigrated to Surrey in British Columbia, Canada. They later had a son and two girls.
After 62 years together, they were forced apart because there were no care homes close by that could accommodate the two of them. For the past eight months, they have lived separately.
Ashley Bartyik, the pair’s granddaughter, said that Wolf was on a waiting list to move into The Residence at Morgan Heights, the same nursing home as his wife.
The Fraser Health Authority hasn’t said, however, how long that could take, and the health of both Wolf and Anita is failing. Wolf is in the early stages of dementia and was, this week, diagnosed with lymphoma. He has also congestive heart failure.
Every other day, family members drive Anita half an hour to see her husband.
‘The stress of this has taken control of her and she has a pace maker,’ Ashley told MailOnline.
‘She has become almost completely immobile and uses a walker wherever she goes and a wheelchair depending on how far the walk is.’
Ashley said whenever the pair part they both begin to cry.
‘My grandma can’t even kiss him goodnight now. He calls out her nickname, little mouse, for her when he sees her,’ she said.
Though Wolf’s memory is fading, his family say he never forgets anything about Anita.
‘They need their time together,’ said Bill Gottschalk, the couple’s only son.
‘If either one of them were to pass away while they’re separated, it would be devastating for for them and the family.’
A spokesperson for the Fraser Health Authority said the situation was ‘upsetting for us as well’.
‘We’ve been working hard with the family to get their loved ones reunited ever since.’
The Authority adds that Wolf and Anita’s case is a priority.
