By Tyler Sutherland
Residents living at the long-term care facility at Winnipeg’s Misericordia Health Centre are finding new ways to connect to loved ones this holiday season.
Volunteers have enabled residents with the ability access e-mail to quickly respond to family around the world.
Resident Gladys Sourisseau, 85, is one of the adopters who is using e-mail to stay connected to her son in New Mexico.
“We send out 50 Christmas cards to friends and family from mom,” says Gladys’s son, Don Sourisseau. “This year, we’re adding the e-mail address in the cards… it’s so easy for the grandchildren to e-mail.”
Misericordia residents could receive e-mails for years, but the help of volunteer Marilyn McLeod has only recently made it possible for them to reply.
McLeod brings her laptop and transcribes residents’ responses on their behalf.
“It’s so rewarding,” McLeod said. “The residents can get emotional receiving letters from relatives. I feel privileged to share in their lives. I tell the residents I’m going to send their message right away and their loved ones are probably going to read it that evening.”
