Hospitalised Ray Hite’s stress-induced illness after Tarcoola closure worsens

Ray Hite has been by his wife’s side for more than 60 years. After being rushed to hospital over a week ago with a stress-induced illness, the 89-year-old is still in hospital and his family said they have never seen him look worse.

HEARTBROKEN: Tarcoola resident Ivy Hite, 82, and her husband Ray Hite 89 will be forced to separate if Tarcoola closes. Pic: Supplied

The shock, stress, and uncertainty around the closure of his wife’s aged care home in Tara, led to health complications for 89-year-old Ray Hite who has been admitted to Toowoomba Hospital for 10 days and counting, his family said.

WORRIED SICK: 89-year-old Ray Hite’s health has taken a turn for the worse after dealing with the stress of losing the ability to visit his lifelong partner of 60 plus years. Pic: Supplied

News that bedbound Ivy Hite would be forced to leave the Tarcoola Aged Care Facility and potentially moved 100km away, where her husband of 63 years wouldn’t be able to visit, rocked the whole family, none more so than Ray.

Ray’s daughter in-law Moreen Hite said Ray stopped eating and taking care of himself when the Western Downs Regional Council announced the home would be closed on July 21.

“He’s still in hospital, he’s very depressed, he’s been weeping the whole time,” she said.

“We got a call saying we needed to visit even though we weren’t supposed to because of Covid,” she said.

After hospital staff wheeled Mr Hite out of the St Andrew’s Hospital to an acceptable social distance from his father and his daughter-in-law, the family’s heart sank at the sight of Ray.

“He’s never even been in a wheelchair before. He’s not getting well,” she said.

“He’s deteriorated, and lost so much weight his teeth fall out whenever he tries to speak.

“I’ve never seen him like it in the 30-plus years I’ve known him.”

CLOSED: The Tarcoola Aged Care Facility in Tara on the Western Downs has been forced to close because the council said it legally can't run with the amount of staff on the roster. Pic: Supplied

Moreen Hite said she had received some backlash from the council passing off Ray’s illness as merely a pre-existing issue, forcing her to defend the family’s truth.

“He hasn’t been the same since (the news), he literally stopped eating for two weeks because of all the stress,” she said.

“The doctors believe his condition has been brought on by stress.”

Before Ray was admitted to hospital on August 2, his son Peter Hite already feared for his father’s health because he knew how important his parents were to each other.

“When these people leave it will be detrimental to their health, a lot of them are going to get sick,” he said.

“My father lives in an independent unit and he moved there to be close to her – he’s very upset.

“If she’s moved away, how many times is he going to be able to visit her before one of them is gone?”

When news of the closure was announced at Tarcoola Mr Hite told the council representatives, “If you do this, you will kill them.”

WORRIED SICK: Tarcoola resident Ivy Hite, 82, and her husband Ray Hite 89 will be forced to separate if Tarcoola closes. Pic: Supplied

Ray doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return to Tara from Toowoomba where his wife tentatively resides.

Although when the 89-year-old does return he will no longer be allowed to live by himself, where he usually takes a few steps to visit Ivy four to eight hours a day.

It was after hours of confidential deliberation, the Western Downs Regional Council voted unanimously to close the Tarcoola Aged Care Facility in July, displacing close to 30 residents.

The council said they had been struggling to find staff for months and held concern for the quality of care to residents.