Nicholas Avtges Sr, 88, used a bucket truck to catch a glimpse of his wife admitted to a nursing home in Waltham, Massachusetts. The couple has been separated for weeks as his wife Marion Avtges was kept under isolation at Maristhill Nursing & Rehabilitation during the coronavirus lockdown in Waltham.
Video footage taken by his relatives went viral on social media platforms adoring the couple getting reunited with the help of the bucket truck. Marion, 85, has been living in the nursing home for a year and Nick Avtges used to visit her every day before the coronavirus crisis. Avtges' family came up with the idea of reuniting the couple who have been married for 61 years.
According to the Boston Globe, the idea was first approved by administrators at the rehab center. James Tracy, president of Maristhill nursing home, said Nick has been a very devoted husband who has never missed a single day to meet his beloved wife.
Family members initially laughed it off as a silly idea
Nick and Marion's son Christopher Avtges reached out to his friends and family to understand if anyone could rent or borrow a bucket lift or a truck. His school friend Peter Tzannos soon responded that he could help, Chris said. Family members initially laughed it off thinking it as a silly idea but it became a reality after Peter convinced Ryan Donnellanm, a local man to use his bucket truck.
On Wednesday afternoon at 2 o'clock he took his dad in the air after getting permission from the nursing home. "Our fingerprints touched through the screen," Nick told WBTS. He is planning to take his wife on a vacation after the coronavirus lockdown ends.
In a recent case, Jerry Lindell surprised his wife on his 84th birthday after being discharged from a Minnesota nursing home following coronavirus treatment. Jerry was admitted to the facility and kept isolated from his 63-year-old wife in order to protect her from coronavirus. He finished his rehab on his his 84th birthday and finally met his wife on April 2.
