Hospital's Heartwarming Gesture for Couple Married 68 Years Goes Viral
Tom and Arnisteen Clark, of Fayetteville, Georgia, visited together each day.
— -- They say true love stands the test of time and one hospital in Georgia is certainly going above and beyond to ensure that remains the case for this special couple.
Tom and Arnisteen Clark, of Fayetteville, Georgia, have been married 68 years, separated only once in their lives while Tom, an Army vet, was serving in Korea.
That lifelong unity made their stay at Piedmont Fayette Hospital particularly difficult when they were both admitted to the orthopedic surgical floor -- in separate rooms.
“I believe he was brought in a couple days before she was,” Charlsie Niemiec, the hospital’s social media specialist, told ABC News. “Because they were on the orthopedic surgical floor, none of those rooms have double occupancy so they couldn’t be together, and it was clearly breaking their hearts.”
The situation was heart wrenching for the hospital’s staff as well, so Tina Mann, the manager of their floor, made special arrangements in order to keep the sweethearts together.
“One our managers, Tina, got some help with the clinical staff to go above and beyond to get special visitation rights,” Niemiec explained. “He was able to sit there with her for a few hours every single day.”
For Tom, it meant the world to be able to see his beloved bride.
“I just can’t be away from her,” the 96-year-old told the hospital’s staff. “She’s the finest woman in the world.”
Arnisteen, 92, and Tom will both be released today and moved to a rehab facility.
“Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for the Clarks and many more happy years together,” the hospital wrote on their Facebook page along with this touching photo now going viral with nearly 2,000 shares.
