'I just wanted to touch her': Whitehorse family reunites with mother in long-term care

After months of only seeing her mother through a window, Grace Snider is treasuring every moment they spend together now that Yukon long-term care facilities are permitting in-person visits.

"I held her hand the whole time," said Snider, whose 89-year-old mother Aldine Snider lives at Copper Ridge Place in Whitehorse. 

Indoor visits were allowed again on Aug. 19, five months after Yukon long-term care facilities shut down on March 16. Outdoor visits were permitted on June 12.

For months, Snider saw her mother through "window visits" — meeting each other from opposite sides of the glass and using a phone to talk. She says she missed being able to physically touch her mother.

Snider wears a mask when she sees her mother.

"I wasn't 100 per cent sure if she knew who I was, so I did a lot of explaining," said Snider.

"Then I sat there and held her hand for most of the visit because I just wanted to touch her and that was a beautiful thing."

'We didn't really know how much we needed it'

Aldine sat next to the window with a warm smile on her face after staff told her Grace was coming for a visit.

It was the first visit for Snider's son, Liam Balmer.

"I have not physically seen her since my birthday in January," said Balmer. "To be able to touch her and say hi, that will be nice."

"We didn't really know how much we needed it until we didn't have it."

Aldine will turn 90 on Oct. 23.

Grace Snider said she's excited to be part of the major milestone in person — and not looking through glass.

"I think that we are really living in the moment, and especially when you are dealing with someone with dementia," said Snider.

"It's all in the moment, because yesterday didn't happen, and tomorrow doesn't exist, so keep it all in the moment."