Elderly couple reunited after 3 months of quarantine: ‘Without her, nothing matters’

A couple who has been together for 64 years was separated by COVID-19, but the pair were finally reunited after three months of separation.

The woman lives in a long-term facility that went under strict quarantine when the coronavirus pandemic set in.

It’s important to know that, before the pandemic began, the man, who continued to live at home, would faithfully visit his wife, who was not named, at the Florence Hand Home.

Each morning, he would arrive at the facility to help her with her makeup, get her jewelry on and comb her hair. Then, he’d spend the day with her doing different activities, including bingo, eating meals with her and pushing her up and down the halls to visit friends.

“It helps keep her active”, said the man, whose name was also not given. “We had always said that if one went into the nursing home, we would both go. But I decided that I could help her more by staying at home and being there during the day.”

But when nursing home facilities were forced to quarantine, the couple’s routine changed abruptly.

It proved difficult, as the couple has been together since 1954. At that time, the two began dating -- and married within about a year.

“She was free-hearted. She would help anybody,” the man said. “Her dad got injured and she went to work at the age of 14. You see, we came up the hard way. And during our marriage, when the going got tough, we just stuck in there better. We never argued. People think I’m lying. Whenever things started getting a little warm, we would just break it off. I always had the last word, though. I’d say, ‘Yes ma’am.‘”

After the two were unable to visit every day, the man still called his wife often, but he began having health problems. Instead of being upset about it, he was content, because it required him to be admitted to the hospital, which led to him being admitted to the facility.

“You see, without her, nothing matters,” he said.

And even though he still had to be quarantined to his room for 14 days, he was grateful.

“The Good Lord just worked it out for me,” he said.

As he waited out the 14 days, he’d peek out his door on occasion to try to catch a glimpse of his wife.

Before the reunion, the man said he wanted to surprise his wife.

On Thursday, the folks at Florence Hand Home set up a private meeting for the couple in the facility’s garden.

“We got everything set up for them, and backed away to enjoy it from a distance,” the facility’s Facebook page says in a post. “They were laughing like teenagers, but we were wiping tears. What a treat it will be to have them both with us.”