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Hospital's touching act reunites husband, 96, with his beloved wife

Staff at a Georgia hospital couldn't bear to see one of their patients separated from his wife of 68 years, so they bent the rules.
/ Source: TODAY

Staff at a Georgia hospital couldn't bear to see one of their patients separated from his wife of 68 years, so they brought him to see the love of his life — and the sweet reunion has gone viral.

The Piedmont Fayette Hospital wrote about the touching moment on its Facebook page, explaining that Tom and Arnisteen Clark both happened to be patients at the hospital at the same time, but that the husband and wife were in different rooms. It was the first time the pair had been apart since Tom, a 96-year-old Army veteran, had been stationed in Korea decades ago, they said.

"I just can't be away from her, she's the finest woman in the world," Tom told the hospital staff.

Touched by his desire to see his wife again, a floor manager decided she would coordinate a daily visit between the couple, a gift that brought Tom to happy tears.

"They got both of them up in recliners around 9 a.m. and they rolled Mr. Clark to Mrs. Clark's room and he stayed with her until around 4 p.m.," Charlsie Niemiec, social media specialist for the hospital, told TODAY.com. "When they started talking again, [Tom] just started crying."

Tom and Arnisteen Clark at their 50th anniversary party.
Tom and Arnisteen Clark at their 50th anniversary party.

A photo of the couple holding hands in their hospital beds quickly racked up attention across the Internet.

"Things like this happen all the time, but this is on a much larger scale," Niemiec said. "It took off. I think everyone is just so touched by their story, especially that they've been together 68 years."

The Clarks right before their discharge from the hospital.
The Clarks right before their discharge from the hospital.

She added that the reason the husband and wife were in separate rooms is because they were staying on the fourth floor, for orthopedics, where all of the rooms are private. They cannot put two patients in a room designed for one person, per state regulations, Niemiec said.

While hospital staff couldn't disclose what it was treating the couple for, they did confirm that both Clarks have been released into a rehab facility.