A HONEYWELL woman has praised the ‘life-saving’ care her dad has received from an Old Town nursing home after she was able to hold his hand for the first time in almost a year.
Michael Benyo, 83, currently resides in Saxondale Care Home, on Clarke Street, and has been there for 18 months - and the care he has received has ‘turned his life around’ according to his daughter, 55-year-old Gillian Latham.
She said: “Not being able to properly see my dad throughout the pandemic has been so hard - I’ve never known grief like it.
“Sunday was the first time I’ve stood next to my dad since March and I can’t thank the care home staff enough for all the amazing work they’ve done to get this sorted, a lot of homes up and down the country haven’t got a visiting booth in place.”
Before the new visiting booth was put in place Gillian had to speak to her father through the window, a task made increasingly difficult due to his deteriorating hearing.
“For me it was just so nice to be able to speak to him properly because speaking to him through the window is hard,” she added.
“It’s been hard trying to explain it to him because he’s always wanted us to just come in and see him but obviously that’s not something we can do.
“My sister went to see him as well and she said it was a positive experience being able to hold my dad’s hand.”
