Team Solomon

Joan and Jack Solomon were separated for almost a year when they were finally reunited at Riverview Health Centre. They had both been waiting for beds, and within a few weeks, they were both accepted into Riverview in rooms across the hall from each other.  This hardly happens.

Their daughter, Sally, said she almost couldn’t believe it when she got the call in December 2023 that her mother would also have a bed at Riverview.

“When he called me, I’m like, what? What? Who is this?” says Sally. “So yes, I was absolutely thrilled.”

Sally said five staff were there to witness her parents’ reunion. “I looked at this parade that we had down the hallway…  they loved the thought that there were these two people who were going to be reunited after so long,” says Sally.

It had even been a surprise to Sally when she got the call before this that her father had a bed at Riverview.

“In November 2023, November 10, I got the call from the social worker at Riverview Health Centre, there was a bed available for my father,” says Sally. “I swear my knees buckled because we initially heard it was going to be a long wait.”

Before, her father was in St. Claude, and her mother was home in Portage la Prairie. Sally did a lot of driving to visit both of her parents, so she said it’s a relief that all three are now together in Winnipeg. Riverview is just a five-minute drive from Sally’s house.

Sally is grateful for what a pleasant facility Riverview is, in more ways than one.

“The real positives of this space are the environment, not only in the physical setup, and connection to nature here, which people need,” says Sally, “but it’s also the human support from some staff, and volunteers, ‘cause people need connections these ways. They need it from their environment, they need it from other human beings. And my parents are fortunate right now that they have each other.”

Jack and Joan spend a lot of time in each other’s rooms, watching TV or just simply talking and enjoying each other’s company. Jack likes to play bingo and bird-watch, and Joan talks on the phone with Sally daily. Joan is grateful for the care they receive.

“The staff are very good,” says Joan, “the nurses, doctors, and their general staff, the girls that just do all the things for you that you can’t do yourself anymore.”

Although her parents are happy with the care they are receiving at Riverview, Sally is pleased to be able to be there for her parents too.

“You can call it Team Solomon, because I know I’m part of their care team,” laughs Sally.