After being married for 68 years, Tom and Arnisteen Clark weren’t going to let illness or hospital rules keep them apart.
Tom, 96, and Arnisteen, 92, both fell ill at the same time and ended up in private, separate rooms at Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, last week, according to the hospital.
The only time the Georgia couple had been apart before is when Tom, a war veteran, was stationed in Korea while serving in the Army.
Recognizing that the separation was difficult for the couple, the hospital decided to make an exception and bent state regulations that don't allow two orthopedic patients share a private room. Special accommodations were made to let Tom visit his wife during their stay, the hospital said.
"Tina Mann, Manager, Orthopedics Medical-Surgical 4, with help from the clinical staff, went above and beyond to make a special arrangement for Tom, 96, to visit his wife, in her room," the hospital explained in an Aug. 6 Facebook post, which has gone viral.
The hospital shared a photo of the couple holding hands in their hospital beds and smiling.
"I just can't be away from her, she's the finest woman in the world," said Tom, who wept when he saw Arnisteen, according to the post.
U.S. & World
The couple was discharged on Aug. 7. according to the hospital.
