After 114 Days Apart, This Woman Took A Dishwashing Job At An Assisted Living Facility So She Could See Her Husband.
Steve Daniel of Jacksonville, Florida was diagnosed with early onset dementia a few years back. He has been a patient at Rosecastle at Deerwood, a memory care facility, since last July. Back in March, the facility went into lock down because of the coronavirus. Steve and his wife Mary spent 114 days apart. Mary went to visit him twice and tried to communicate with him through a window. Since Steve has Alzheimer’s, he couldn’t understand why she was there but couldn’t come near him. He cried. His frustration grew, and so did her heartbreak.
She knew that his condition was going to deteriorate, so she emailed the center desperate to get inside. She offered to volunteer or get a job. Rosecastle called Mary back and told her that there’s a part time job available washing dishes. After 20 hours of video training about safety precautions and working in the assisted living facility, she works 90 minute shifts on Thursday’s and Friday’s making 9$ an hour just so she can see her husband.
After every shift, she spends time watching TV with Steve and getting him ready for bed. She asks him how his day was. Even though his words no longer make sense to her, he answers enthusiastically. Before their reunion, she was afraid that he wouldn’t remember her. As soon as he saw her, he started crying and called out her name. Steve and Mary have been married for 24 years. Mary is using her paychecks to buy gift cards for the staff at Rosecastle because getting to see Steve again is enough reward for her.
