We are slowly returning to a sense of normalcy thanks to the aggressive vaccine rollout that has seen over 35 million Americans already fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Now, we are beginning to see scenes of reconnection and reunion after a year of separation from the people we love most. One such scene between a grandma and her granddaughter has now gone viral.
The grandma, Evelyn Shaw, had spent months in isolation and was still in “COVID land” even though it was safe for her to visit with other fully vaccinated individuals. With the help of grandma’s doctor, granddaughter Ateret Shaw managed to convince her to give her first hug in months.
Hesitant at first, one grandma eventually warmed to the idea of a hug after seeing a prescription from her doctor telling her to embrace the embrace.
“You are allowed to hug your granddaughter,” a signed prescription from Evelyn’s doctor reads. The image was shared on Twitter and quickly went viral along with a video of the subsequent hug.
“We were standing in my apartment, just hugging and hugging and crying and crying for the first time in a year, which was an out-of-body experience,” Evelyn told CNN about the hug she shared with Ateret.
First hug she’s had in a year. Thank you to all the scientists and doctors who made this happen! pic.twitter.com/puvJlJpDoy
— Jessica Shaw (@JessicaShaw) March 9, 2021
Evelyn continued to describe the special moment saying, “It was blissful, it was wonderful and it was something I am going to remember for the rest of my life.”
Evelyn told CNN that Ateret and her daughter, Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, originally showed up to her apartment with “a little gift” but she was reluctant to let them in.
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“My granddaughter had completed her COVID protocol but I was not going to let her in… even though I had completed my vaccines,” Evelyn shared with the outlet. “I was stuck in COVID land.”
After opening the “gift” and reading the prescription, Evelyn said “something happened to me.”
“Having this prescription from my doctor gave me the courage to let her in,” she told CNN.
Once Ateret was inside, the two shared a warm embrace, an emotional moment that was captured on video and posted to Evelyn’s daughter, Jessica Shaw’s Twitter.
Along with the video, Jessica wrote on Twitter: “First hug she’s had in a year. Thank you to all the scientists and doctors who made this happen!”
Evelyn thanked her doctor for the prescription which helped her move from a place of fear to one of “a better place of hope and possibilities and more hugs and kisses.” Ateret also revealed to CNN that she was “nervous” to hug her grandma, but said “it felt incredible” afterward.
“Even though I have my shots, it’s still, as my grandmother said, it feels weird,” Ateret explained. “Having that prescription in my hand, it felt like a permission slip to be able to hug my grandmother and once I did it, it felt natural. It felt like a relief and I immediately started crying.”
As the country continues to administer the vaccine and adjust to new guidelines, Evelyn said she hopes her video and story will inspire others to “do the right thing” so that they can share similar moments with their beloved.
“It’s been a very dark year, listening to the news, reading the paper,” she said to CNN. “Wear your mask, get your vaccines, wash your hands, stay socially distanced because at the end of all of this is the reward.”
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“It’s that hug that you saw, not only for one child but for your whole family and for your friends and for our community and our state,” she continued. “And as far as I’m concerned, for the world.”
How wonderful is this family? We hope very much to see many more reunions between people who have responsibly stayed distant during the pandemic. We could all use plenty of heartwarming stories after such a cold winter.
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