< Nursing Home Staff Reunites Couple Separated Because Of Coronavirus

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Don and Joyce Hoffman have been inseparable for nearly seven decades. The 90-year-old couple got married in 1952.

DON HOFFMAN: We're not used to being separated. We come as a set.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

But when Joyce tested positive for COVID-19, the couple was separated while Joyce received treatment.

JOYCE HOFFMAN: He was afraid because I thought I would really feel bad.

MARTIN: Joyce was put on a different floor of their nursing home, and the couple were only allowed to talk on the phone.

D HOFFMAN: Couldn't we just get together, we said, hide somewhere and nobody would know we were together? But, no, that didn't work. They wouldn't go for that.

MARTIN: Eventually, the separation became too much for Don.

D HOFFMAN: After a while, I said I don't worry - I don't care if I get sick. I want to be sick. Put me together so we can get sick and be with her (laughter). It sounded good to us.

GREENE: Fortunately, Joyce had only mild symptoms. And five weeks later, she recovered fully. It was then that the nursing home staff decided to hold a surprise reunion. The staff lined the hall and cheered as Joyce was wheeled in her chair towards an unsuspecting Don.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

D HOFFMAN: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

(CHEERING)

MARTIN: They were both gushing with emotion.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

D HOFFMAN: So beautiful. Oh, my.

J HOFFMAN: How can you be so cute?

MARTIN: Ever since the couple's been reunited, they've been able to do the things they weren't able to do during the separation.

J HOFFMAN: Then, I got my hair done...

D HOFFMAN: Yes.

J HOFFMAN: ...By my hairdresser.

GREENE: And more importantly...

D HOFFMAN: To be together and to walk together and hold hands together.

GREENE: Don and Joyce are going to be celebrating their 68th anniversary on July 13.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE ALBUM LEAF'S "TWENTYTWOFOURTEEN")

Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.