Daughter uses a bucket truck to visit her Holocaust survivor father in a care home

Max Rosenbloom, who lives in a Toronto nursing home was visited by his daughter thanks to some help from a bucket truck. Lee Minkowitz climbed aboard the bucket and used it to get her up to his third story window.

“He was waving. He was so happy. I said ‘I love you,’” Minkowitz said in an interview with CTV News.

The bucket truck was raised about 30 feet in the air and Minkowitz wore her personal protective equipment, just in case. From the bucket, she was able to see her father. The two haven't seen each other face to face since the lockdown first began, over a month ago.

“Hi dad,” Lee yelled from outside Max's third-floor window.

“I couldn’t pull out my phone, I was so scared,” she said. “I can’t say I wasn’t afraid, I was reluctant to do it, but I’ll do anything for my parents.”

“That feeling of loneliness is so difficult for survivors. I was really used to going to see him once or twice every single day.”

Lee’s son, Avi Minkowitz, who was apparently the “mastermind” behind the whole operation, captured the heartwarming moment on video, and a personal support workers helped take some photos.

“My mother is an only child and seeing her parents, especially during this difficult time, is very important to her,” said Avi. “So I thought 'how can we get her up there?' And then I thought of a friend of mine who has a bucket truck and he agreed to help right away.”

Rosenbloom suffered a stroke last year which forced him to move from the home where he had been living with his wife. She will turn 85 this week. Lee said that her father had to move into the nursing home last December and has sadly been bedridden ever since.

Her parents have been married for over 60 years and up until December, have never been apart.

Rosenbloom survived five different concentration camps during the Second World War before he immigrated to Canada in 1948. His wife was saved by a non-Jewish family during that same time period and managed to survive as well. They met in the 1960's in Israel, where they were married before moving back to Toronto.

Max worked up until the 1980's at a clothing manufacturing facility that he had started. “He is very ambitious, very hardworking, truly a great man,” said Lee.

Since the pandemic began, Max has been communicating with his family virtually, using FaceTime on an iPad that Lee bought for him.

Lee said that while she felt the employees at the nursing home were doing a "great job" given this "unfathomable situation," she still believes extra measures need to be implemented to allow for more special moments like this one to occur, during this difficult time.

“I’m not recommending everyone go get a bucket truck,” said Lee. “But, maybe the homes can provide supervised visits on safe platforms like scaffolding at the side of the building.”

Ontario's Long-term care facilities have undoubtedly been hit the worst by this pandemic, with over 198 outbreaks of COVID-19 recorded by public health officials as of Friday.