> New Florida law will let veterans and spouses receive care together at veterans' nursing homes
New Florida law will let veterans and spouses receive care together at veterans' nursing homes
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It takes a lot to get an old drill sergeant emotional. For 88-year-old Vietnam veteran Ken Sizemore, it happens when he beams about his kids and their mom, the love of his life, Josephine.
"I just miss them so much,” Sizemore said. “It’s hard to be apart.”
They met while Ken was overseas in Thailand and through most of their six-decade-long marriage, Ken’s deployments were the only time they spent apart.
“Spouses serve as well, they serve our country as well supporting the one that's in the military,” their daughter Jenny Stentiford said.
As heroes age, they sometimes need some more support. For the past two years, Ken has been living at the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans' Nursing Home in Pasco County. Most days are spent away from his way Josephine, who’s not a veteran and has been diagnosed with dementia.
“You're supposed to be married for life, right? ‘Till death do you part. And it's been heartbreaking,” Stentiford said. “Even when we bring mom to visit, that's good, but then bittersweet because they have to say goodbye.”
But soon, they'll start every day, again, with a good morning.
A new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday will allow veteran spouses like Josephine to be admitted and receive care at state veterans’ long-term care facilities.
MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/veterans-spouses-nursing-homes/67-f8834be0-60b2-435b-a517-9f6dba074629
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