Woman Reveals Engagement Ring to Isolated Granddad Through Care Center Window Amid Pandemic

(Photo courtesy of Premier Living & Rehab Center Info Page)

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a woman unable to visit her grandfather in isolation at his assisted-living facility appeared at his window with important news. Through the glass, she revealed an engagement ring. Photos of the touching moment were taken by staff and went viral on Facebook.

When Carly Boyd’s boyfriend proposed on the shores of Myrtle Beach, in Tucson, Arizona, she was over the moon. “I was very, very ecstatic about it! I cried, he cried,” she recalled, per KOLD News 13.

Photo courtesy of Premier Living & Rehab Center Info Page

After sharing the life-changing news to friends and family, she and her father went to the Premier Living & Rehab Center, where her grandfather, Sheldon, lived. Upon arrival, they were told the nursing home had to restrict visitation so as to protect residents from the ongoing health crisis.

However, the staff came up with an inventive idea for the young woman to be able to see her grandfather. “They said ‘Well we can walk around [the building] and we can pull the blinds up, and you can tell him [through the window]’ and I was like ‘Yes, I would love to!’” Boyd explained, per KOLD News 13.

Photo courtesy of Premier Living & Rehab Center Info Page

The bride-to-be told media that being able to personally relay to her grandfather the news of her engagement meant the world to her. Photos taken by the nurses from inside the home show Boyd revealing her new engagement ring to him. One tearful picture shows the moment when both family members press hands through the glass.

“I got really emotional and really sad and I just put my hand on the window, and he put his there too. I just told him I love him, and he said ‘I love you too and I hope to see you soon’ like really see you,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Premier Living & Rehab Center Info Page

Meanwhile, amid the upheaval caused by the pandemic, communities in other parts of the country have shown support for their elderly citizens in lockdown.

In Dane County in Wisconsin, residents have put together a Facebook group for people who want to volunteer to pick up groceries, prescriptions, and run general errands for elderly neighbors in isolation.

While in Wichita, Kansas, members of the local First United Methodist Church have been helping older residents in quarantine by providing them with food and other living essentials.

The Facebook post of Boyd and her grandfather went viral, garnering some 173,000 shares. Over 10,000 people commented and expressed how touched they were, with many sharing their own heartbreaking virus-related isolation stories.

One comment read, “Y’all this breaks my heart!!! At least they can see there loved ones through the window.”

Another noted, “I’m totally ugly crying right now! I went from smiling at the first pic to instantly crying when I saw them touching hands through the window, and the sadness on her face.”

While a particularly touching comment said, “Praying for all these people in Nursing Homes and praying they get the best care that’s possible and for the families of these patients! Be with them, dear Lord, and help them all to get through this terrible time!”