Today (July 24) may not be the first time that South Surrey senior Doris Gage gets to hold her great-grandson Nash, but it will be the first time she does it amongst a crowd of more than two dozen family and friends, as they gather at a Langley park to celebrate his first birthday.

乌鸦传媒淭he day we brought him home she was able to hold him,乌鸦传媒� Gage乌鸦传媒檚 granddaughter Meghan Mitchell recalled Friday (July 23), of Nash乌鸦传媒檚 mid-pandemic arrival.

乌鸦传媒淏ut then there were lulls乌鸦传媒� sometimes three weeks or a month went by that I didn乌鸦传媒檛 bring him乌鸦传媒� for visits.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been quite a year, to say the least.乌鸦传媒�

Gage, 95, has been living at Amica White Rock since last September, after moving from her White Rock apartment to an independent-living unit six months after the pandemic was declared.

At the time, public-health restrictions meant she went into an immediate two-week isolation period. And after that, months passed where visits were essentially limited to one person and had to be carefully planned. As well, personal protective equipment was an essential part of the equation and pre-pandemic norms such as hugging were off the table, seemingly indefinitely.

Mitchell, who describes herself as 乌鸦传媒渁 hugger乌鸦传媒� and her family as 乌鸦传媒渧ery, very close,乌鸦传媒� remembers it was difficult to adjust to life without that physical contact, and, sadly, how it initially felt foreign when restrictions started to ease in April, and those connections were once again within reach.

They came after a year of living with the fear of inadvertently exposing Gage 乌鸦传媒� affectionately called 乌鸦传媒淣an乌鸦传媒� 乌鸦传媒� to COVID-19, despite following all the rules and taking all the precautions.

乌鸦传媒淥h my gosh, our first big hug was April 1 乌鸦传媒� the first time, I want to say, almost since Nash was born,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚t was kind of the most awkward hug, because it had been so long.

乌鸦传媒淚t was almost like, oh my gosh, this is happening? Now, it乌鸦传媒檚 second-nature.乌鸦传媒�

This week乌鸦传媒檚 news that fully vaccinated visitors no longer have to schedule visits, wear masks or keep their distance from residents in their rooms is 乌鸦传媒渁bsolutely乌鸦传媒� a big deal, Mitchell said. It means Mitchell and her partner can visit Gage together, the entire family can plan dinners and visits and outings, there乌鸦传媒檚 no screening process for visits, and if Gage has plans to go out, 乌鸦传媒渟he signs herself out.乌鸦传媒�

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乌鸦传媒淛ust being able to celebrate,乌鸦传媒� Mitchell added. 乌鸦传媒淯s being unmasked and being able to see people乌鸦传媒檚 faces is huge.乌鸦传媒�

That latter piece alone has been interesting with Nash, she added. The tot乌鸦传媒檚 life to date has consisted of interactions with mostly masked individuals, and now she and her partner get to watch as he processes that there乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒渁 whole other part乌鸦传媒� to people乌鸦传媒檚 faces.

When it comes to her Nan, however, there乌鸦传媒檚 still a hint of fear where COVID is concerned, Mitchell admits.

乌鸦传媒淥ur family is still COVID-cautious,乌鸦传媒� she said, 乌鸦传媒渂ecause she is 95.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淲e still wear masks in the car乌鸦传媒� we乌鸦传媒檙e still quite cautious with that, because that乌鸦传媒檚 our biggest fear, is getting Nan sick, because even a cold for her is worrisome at times.乌鸦传媒�