‘It was better than Christmas’; Veteran reunited with wife after 4 months
MINER , Mo. — It had been more than 4 months since Army Veteran Terry Nelson had been able to hold his wife Trudy’s hand and tell her he loved her in person, but a little help from his caretakers at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center made his wish, and hers, a reality.
Nelson is a temporary resident in the VA medical center’s Community Living Center in Poplar Bluff, and with his wife recovering from a fracture at a nursing home in Miner, 50-plus miles away, getting together is difficult.
They keep in touch through FaceTime calls when their daughter visits, but it’s not the same as being together. Worse, during a recent call, Nelson noticed something was wrong. Trudy couldn’t form words and was slumped over in her chair.
“Last Friday, I wouldn’t have given her until the next morning,” he recalled. “She was talking out of her head and her neck was bent over.”
He was worried, knowing there wasn’t much he could do with the miles between them. But then he prayed.
“I prayed for her,” he said, “… and God answers prayers.”
The next morning, Trudy was alert, talking, and was able to hold her head up. She wanted to see him, and he wanted to see her.
In the meantime, Samantha Rehkop, a recreation therapist at the VA medical center, received a message from the couple’s daughter inquiring if there was a way to somehow get Nelson there.
“She told me (her mother) wasn’t doing so well and that she wanted to know if we could figure out how to get him over there,” Rehkop said.
So, the wheels quickly began to turn, first to Rehkop’s supervisor, then up the chain of command, and in a matter of hours, a plan had been approved and put into place.
“We got it figured out,” Rehkop said. “We started on Monday, and I had the go-ahead on Tuesday morning.”
Within a couple days, Nelson boarded a VA bus with Rehkop and VA nurse assistant Dee Edelman and made the trip to Miner. “I think she’ll be surprised and happy,” he said with anticipation.
At the nursing home, Rehkop and Edelman left the pair to spend quiet time alone, and for a little while at least, life seemed to be somewhat normal again.
For Nelson, it was everything he hoped it would be.
“It was a great visit, and she was surprised,” he said afterward. “I was about to cry.”
And, he was grateful to his VA caretakers for making it happen.
“Everyone is great, and they treat us like somebody. A lot of people have worked hard to make this happen,” he said, “and to everyone who worked on it for me … it was better than Christmas.”
That, Rehkop and Edelman agreed, made all the effort worth it.
“They have been so isolated with all the COVID restrictions, limited visitors and limited contact outside the hospital,” Edelman said. “This made his day.”
“It feels really good,” Rehkop added. “I want the best for our Veterans, and being able to do things like this … to be able to help him see his wife is something that’s more than just your job. You care about the guys, so you want to try and get them everything you can.”
For more information on Veteran health care services at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, call 573-686-4151 or visit the facility’s website at www.va.gov/poplar-bluff-health-care/.