Emotional moment as couple married for 59 years reunited after being forced to separate due to coronavirus crisis

Peter Foster, 87, and his wife Doreen, 91, married in 1961, and the couple have rarely been far from each other’s side since.

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But the couple were pulled apart in February, when Peter, who has been the main carer for his wife in recent years, was diagnosed with Lymphoma.

Peter went into hospital and Doreen was taken into respite care. It was shortly afterwards that the coronavirus outbreak meant neither could visit each other.

Months passed with the couple forced apart. But now they have been reunited after moving in to Donwell House Care Home in Washington together.

Shannon Kelly, a nurse at the home said: “Peter arrived first and was excited that he would be seeing Doreen, but when Doreen arrived I was speechless and the moment between them was lovely. I couldn’t hold back the tears.

“It’s lovely to have them together and for all the staff to now be a part of their journey. They are a lovely couple and we look forward to meeting all the family after lockdown.”

Peter Foster, a retired police officer, originally from Shildon, met Doreen, a former school dinner nanny, in the late 1950s.

The couple, who have been married for 59 years, had four children together. They moved to Washington in 1973.

They are not the only couple who have been forced apart by the crisis.

Like all care homes in the country, it was forced to close to visitors early in 2020 when the coronavirus crisis began to take hold in the UK.

Donwell House manager Victoria Leighton made the difficult decision to move her children out of their home and not see them in order to better protect elderly residents in her care.

Residents have been given access to tablets to help them have virtual visits with loved ones, and care home team also asked the community to send cards, letters and poems to residents.

Children from George Washington Primary School were among those taking part, making gifts for residents for Mother’s Day.

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