Frank and Masako ‘Terry’ Martinez Illinois couple married for 63 years but separated by COVID re unite for dinner date at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon.
An elderly couple separated after they were both hospitalized with COVID-19 have been reunited and treated to a dinner date by nurses.
Frank Martinez, 93, and Masako ‘Terry’ Martinez, 86, were able to hold hands and eat together at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, Illinois.
A posted image to the hospital’s Facebook page showed the pair who were both being treated but in separate areas of the hospital, being flanked by the two nurses who arranged for them to see each other.
It remained how long the pair had been hospitalized before nurses were able to bring the couple together again.
Nurses Hannah Schlemer and Kim Presson set about arranging for the pair to be reunited after finding out the couple were ‘were very dependent on another’.
‘… married for 63 years and are both in the hospital but in separate areas’
They then moved Frank, a World War Two, Korea and Vietnam veteran, to be near his wife to enable the pair ‘to eat together for the evening’, KMOV reported.
Offered the hospital in a statement: ‘Colleagues at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital have seen firsthand how the safety precautions and visitor guidelines have affected patients this entire year during the pandemic.’
Adding: ‘Patients Frank and Terry have been married for 63 years and are both in the hospital but in separate areas.
‘When a family member mentioned that they are always inseparable and very dependent on each other, their nurses, Kim and Hannah, made a plan.
‘The couple were treated to a special ‘Dinner Date’ night where they were able to see each other, hold hands and eat together for the evening. Just as they have done for so many years.’
Facebook user Chris Watson replied to the post: ‘Kim and Hannah, THANK YOU!!! I have known these two love birds since the 60s.
‘My parents were dear friends of theirs. And their family is so right. They were inseparable. They are the sweetest couple ever. Prayers for them and for all of you doing what you all do. THANK YOU!!!’
More than 26 million Americans have tested positive for the virus; 452, 279 have died.
