ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WAVY) — Tuesday was the first time since March 11 that Clay Foreman got to see his wife outside of Waterbrooke of Elizabeth City, an assisted living community.
Their time together consisted of having a “visiting booth” in between them for safety.
“It’s delightful because we’ve been using a camera phone to talk … daily and now it’s so nice to see her,” said Clay Foreman.
The idea to get the visiting booth started as Admissions and Marketing Director Audrey Clark was scrolling through social media.
“I was scrolling on Facebook one night and I had saw a nursing home in Ohio had came up with a booth called a ‘blessing box’ and I thought it was a cool way for families to come out and visit,” said Clark.
Clark says she made a call to Lowes and spoke with the store manager to ask if they could donate materials to build the booth.
“I got an email a few days later saying they were on the way with a huge surprise,” she said.
Joshua Hill, the assistant store manager at the Lowes in Elizabeth City, says one of their pro-team members took on the task of building it.
“He put it together and the next day I was off. So, we didn’t have any way to get it to them, so me and my daughter came down and we put it on my truck and trailer and took it over to them,” said Hill.
“I’m very pleased with what they’ve done” said Foreman.
Clark says they do have restrictions from the state they need to follow.
“Families do have to call and schedule an appointment, but we also have to follow guidelines from the state to make sure everybody is safe,” said Clark.
She says while they can’t do handshakes or hugs just yet, seeing someone in-person is a big step.