Photo goes viral of man holding sign thanking health care workers ‘for saving my wife’s life’

A photo went viral this week of a man holding up a sign tearfully thanking medical professionals for helping treat his wife amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Allison Swendsen, a Registered Nurse at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, shared a photo Wednesday of a man holding up a sign that said “thank you all in emergency for saving my wife’s life” and “I love you all,” with his hand over his heart as he cried.

Swendsen wrote in the post that she heard a knock on the window from the man, who was not identified, and said he “knew he couldn’t come in but wanted to show some gratitude.”

“I asked through the window if I could snap a picture and he nodded, he had tears pouring down his face,” Swendsen wrote on Facebook in a post that has tens of thousands of likes and shares.

The nurse said she asked the man how his wife was, and he responded “great, she is going home today, you are all amazing.” 

“I dont know him, I dont know his wife, but through out the last 13 years as a nurse, I realized, this is why we do it- times are tough but we make a difference,” she continued. 

Hospitals across the country have placed restrictions on who can enter their facilities in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Two New York City hospitals banned spouses, partners, midwives and doulas from being present while individuals give birth. 

The United States has more than 83,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Thursday evening, surpassing both China and Italy in cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.