Mary Daniel's husband Steve was diagnosed with Alzheimer's seven years ago and moved into a care facility in Florida last July.
Things were going great, Daniel was visiting her husband every night and would get him ready for bed. That was until the coronavirus pandemic hit. His care center had to put down coronavirus restrictions and stopped accepting visitors on March 11th.
The restrictions stopped Daniel from seeing her husband for 114 days. And not knowing how long the lockdown would last, she tried to get creative to see her husband. She shared with CBS News, "Originally, I sent an email to the executive director saying, 'OK, what do I need to do to get in there? Can I volunteer... can I bring a therapy dog? Can I get a job?"
The facility didn't know how long the restriction would last either, but didn't take her up on her offer. Daniel got restless and decided to take more action by writing local and state officials urging them to end the isolation of patients in senior care facilities. She was worried about her husband spending so much time alone and noted that his behavior changed in quarantine.
Daniel shared that out of the blue, the corporate office of his memory care center called her and shared that they had a part-time job available. Daniel said she'd do any job they offered for a chance to get inside. The company gave her the dishwashing position and Daniel was able to see her husband again and get him ready for bed.
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