Stephens City, VA -- Another casualty of the coronavirus: hugs.
With abundant fear about coming into close contact with elderly loved ones, hugging has run afoul of proper social-distancing and common-sense precautions —especially at coronavirus-stricken nursing homes. But that’s not stopping some relatives from concocting creative ways to hug Nana safely.
A daughter found a heartwarming way to safely hug her mom, a resident at Fox Trails Senior Living Home in Stephens City, Virginia — by wearing an inflatable hippo costume, complete with a pink tutu.
Footage posted to Twitter May 13 shows the grandma at the entrance of the facility, receiving a hug from her daughter in the hippo costume.
“This is wonderful!” the elder woman exclaims. The video’s narrator gushes, “My mother-in-law hugging my grandmother in an inflatable hippo suit wearing a tutu is the content you needed today. Her nursing home is letting family members hug each other in these sterilized suits.”
Twitter swooned over the adorable get up — and tender moment between mother and daughter separated — at least physically — over COVID-19.
“This is pretty great. And also something we will look at in ten years and be like ‘was this real life??’ ”
“Very sweet,”wrote @replikate, while @bellastef gushed, “I love this …. bringing a little tear. How amazing is this nursing home to get creative! Thanks for sharing.”
It’s far from the only creative alternative to skin-on-skin contact with a vulnerable loved one. UK grandson-of-the-year Antony Cauvin, 29 circumvented safety concerns for his beloved grandmother byfashioninga “cuddle curtain,” which allowed the two to embrace safely.
“When you’ve known someone all your life, to be able to hug that person again … it brought a tear to everybody’s eye,” he said. Other families have taken to calling their protective barrier iterations “hug shields.”
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