A Texas man can’t be with his wife during her chemotherapy treatment due to COVID-19 restrictions, but he’s finding another way to be there for her.
Kelly Conner, 40, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January, just a couple months before the novel coronavirus made it to the United States, causing lockdowns and many restrictions.
Ever since, she’s been undergoing chemotherapy treatments at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Sugar Land, Texas.
At first, her husband Albert was by her side for every test and appointment, Good Morning America (GMA) reports, but that all changed when, due to COVID-19 safety measures, he was no longer allowed into the hospital.
Albert got creative and, instead of staying home, he sat outside of her hospital window with a sign that reads: “I can’t be with you but I’m here.”
“No visitors allowed for chemo due to the virus but that didn’t stop Albert Conner,” Kelly wrote on Facebook.
“Thank you for all your continued love and support.”
When his wife was first diagnosed, Albert, 44, promised her he’d be by her side throughout her treatments.
He is a man of his word.
“I felt like I would be breaking my word,” he told GMA. “I just got a poster board, and our kids and I coloured it.”
Just before the photos were taken, Kelly had no idea her husband was waiting for her outside, since she drove herself to the hospital.
“As soon as he texted me, I just kind of lifted up in my chair a little bit to peer out the window and he was just right there,” she said.
“It immediately brought tears to my eyes and I felt a love for him right then in that moment, that he would do that for me.”
His sign also thanks the hospital staff, who’ve approached him outside the building to show their support.
“A few of them said I was the reason that they come to work,” he said. “The attention made me uncomfortable but it made me feel good and was very touching.”
Kelly’s chemotherapy is set to wrap up at the end of May, when she will undergo surgery and radiation therapy.
“This is inspiring people to come up with creative ways to continue to show their love and support for family,” Kelly said.
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