Listener Lahna Finstad sent me this beautiful story, which kind of makes me want to get married tomorrow.
So Steve and Mary Daniel of Jacksonville, Florida, have been married for 34 years.
Unfortunately, Steve, who is 66, has early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and for his best interests lives in a memory care unity of a nursing home. Mary sees him every day, and each night she gets him ready for bed before heading home alone.
Now, this is painful enough a situation for any couple to deal with. BUT add COVID to the mix, and it has kept Mary away from her husband for 114 days! The nursing home (like most) had banned all visitors!
Mary tried visiting him through a window, but he just cried and could not understand what was really going on, so for a while she just thought it was best for him if they painfully wait this all out.
THEN Mary was struck with brilliance- she reached out to the nursing home, and asked if there was any job there for her. She just wanted to be able to see her husband again, and now she is a dishwasher at the nursing home, in the name of love.
The first time she and her husband saw one another in person, he teared up and called her by name, showing he recognized his beloved wife.
I’m crying.