Tallahassee family fighting for a way to see their sick mother

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Many patients and families know the stress of having their loved ones in the hospital alone, as the coronavirus pandemic has kept visitors from entering health care facilities.

For months, Sarah Anderson was not allowed to see her mother in her nursing home due to visitor restrictions. After several health issues however, her mother was moved to Capital Regional Medical Center.

CRMC, just like many facilities across the country, is also restricting visitors to limit the spread of COVID.

But Anderson said she’s worried that if something happens, she might not get to see her mother one last time.

“Just the thought of, yes, as you were saying, that she could pass and we not be allowed to see her, I just don’t understand it,” explained Anderson.

In Leon County, CRMC and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare have strict visitor policies, with exceptions if patients are nearing the end of their life.

Anderson says when her mother’s situation looked bleak, the hospital allowed two visitors to see her for 30 minutes. While she was grateful for that, Anderson says it left other family members feeling lots of stress.

“Myself and my two brothers have basically just been supporting each other, just praying and trusting and believing god through this,” said Anderson.

Sarah says her family is also worried that with her mother’s dementia, she may be more confused than ever.

“Of course you’re already in yourself, you’re scared, and you have dementia, so her entire world has just been closed off from her,” exclaimed Anderson.

As Anderson’s mother’s condition thankfully improved, the stringent visiting protocols from CRMC returned.

“So I have a good vibes with the hospital, but it’s just unfortunately in this situation,” explained Anderson. “I’m not in agreement with their policy.”

Anderson is now waiting for the number of COVID cases to decline so visitation can resume, and she can finally be with her mother all the time.

Currently in Tallahassee, all long term care facilities and hospitals are restricting visitors due to COVID-19.

However, on Tuesday, Gov. Ron Desantis hosted a roundtable discussion to start to talk about how to protect the state’s most vulnerable, while also letting loved ones visit.

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