A local business is offering what it hopes can be a unique solution for what can be heartbreaking times.
They don’t know if it will fly, they’re just trying to help.
JL’s Tree Service wants to use a boom lift to put people outside the windows of loved ones in long-term care, hospital and hospice facilities.
It would allow them some contact with a loved one, possibly ones near the end of life, and give them the chance to say the goodbye that many are being denied due to the current restrictions on visitation because of COVID-19.
“It’s a little far-fetched, but if it can help one person, then it’s worth trying,” said Joe Legate, who runs JL’s Tree Service with wife Jess.
Legate got the idea after seeing a story online about a tree service in Ohio doing it.
“I thought ‘we could do something like that,’” Legate said.
“I also had a former staff member recently who wasn’t able to see his grandfather, then a friend of mine had his dad not able to go see his wife who is in Guelph General,” he said.
Right now it’s just an idea, but Legate said his wife Jess will be contacting area facilities to see if the project is feasible.
An online petition in support of the initiative garnered 367 signatures in its first 24 hours.
“We would like to provide the opportunity for people to “say goodbye” or see their loved one in these final moments. No one should have to die alone or without saying goodbye and already this is becoming a reality in our community,” says the petition for the service, which would be free.
The equipment is a self-propelled aerial lift. It has a bucket that is operated from ground level and can reach up to six storeys up.
The ‘visitor’ would be strapped in with a certified safety harness and not have to do anything other than go for a ride.
He likened it to children going for a ride in the bucket of a fire truck boom. There is room for a second person.
Legate said it is electric, thus quiet, built for awkward access locations and would be sanitized.
“This is the time to try and reach out and help people,” he said. “How can I help people just have that five minutes with someone they love?”
