SHELBURNE -- The Shelburne Retirement Residence has been devastated by an outbreak of COVID-19, with 90 per cent of its residents becoming infected.
The facility has been struggling to contain the virus for the last month.
Twenty-four staff members and 55 residents have tested positive, with the impact hitting hard outside the home as well, as family members try to cope with the situation.
Melissa Cauley's mother, Mona, is one of those infected residents.
"The other day I was on the phone with her, and she said, 'Come see me. I want to see you before I die.' And I said, 'Mom, you're not going to die. You're okay.' And she goes, 'Everybody around here is dying Melissa.'"
Fifteen of the facility's 60 residents have passed away since becoming infected with the virus.
Sandra Baker's mother, Jean, has also tested positive.
"The whole family has just been in shock," Baker says. "She's got every elderly condition you could possibly imagine."
Jean has dementia and lung cancer, but Baker says, incredibly, she's beating the odds. "The doctors are mystified why she is still alive."
Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville is sending 25 health-care workers, including 18 nurses, to support the overwhelmed staff at the Shelburne facility.
While standing outside the building and looking into her mother's window, Melissa Cauley admits she's not ready to say goodbye.
"My mom just said, 'Come inside, come inside. Can't you bring flowers in? And I love you so much.'"
