Nancy Coan remembers the last time she hugged her husband nearly a year ago before his long term care facility would be closed down to in-person visitors due to COVID-19.
"I gave him a big hug, and I said, 'I'm giving you a big hug today because I don't know if tomorrow they're gonna let me come in again,'" Coan recalled Monday.
"Sure enough, then it began."
For the months to come, her daily visits to see her husband Bill Coan at the Samaritas campus in Grand Rapids turned into virtual visits, and briefly, window or outdoor visits.
Visits that the Coans said they were thankful to staff for making happen.
But, on Monday, March 8, Nancy and one of her daughters, Kim, were able to go inside and sit six-feet away from Bill. It was the first time they'd seen him in person since November, on the couple's 50th wedding anniversary.
"He was just inside that door and us on the outside and we sent balloons, anniversary balloons and flowers to him, and he gave me flowers on the outside," Nancy Coan said. "So, that was our 50th right through the window."
Almost everyday for the two years prior, Nancy Coan had visited her husband, who had started receiving fulltime care after breaking his hip and suffering a stroke.
"Life has been changing all along," Nancy Coan said. "We can't control what we can't control, so we take every new moment as we can."
The Coan family's visit was one of several in-person, indoor visits lined up for Monday and the days to come as Samaritas' long term care facility begins welcoming back visitors.
When the state announced a rollback on nursing home visitor restrictions, Valarie Cook, with Samaritas, said the phone started ringing.
"Oh, yeah. Right away," said Cook. "They're very, very excited and there's some sense of security of going into the building."
Visits do come with restrictions, including a limit of two people per person, a negative COVID-19 test, a temperature check, a mask and a six-foot distance.
Samaritas is also scheduling out visits in advance and monitoring visits to ensure protocols are followed.
"We just want to tread lightly and make sure we do it safely, so that it doesn't stop," Cook said.
But, Cook says it's progress after nearly a year of unconventional visits.
"We were their family for the last 12 months. At times, normally we would call a loved one, have them come up and see them. That wasn't possible. So, we were everything to all of them, and we made it through," Cook said. "I know it's not completely over, but this is a sign of better things to come."
The loosening of restrictions at long term care facilities comes as most of their vaccination clinics by CVS and Walgreens through a federal partnership have been carried out.
Bill Coan was in the mix of the over 90% of Samaritas residents who received the COVID-19 vaccine, Cook said. Long term care facilities were among the first places in the state to begin vaccination clinics.
As of last week, 11.7% of the population ages 16 and older have been vaccinated in Michigan. The state's goal is to hit 70% as soon as possible.
Nancy Coan receives her second dose of the vaccine on Friday. She's ready for the day she can embrace her husband.
"I can't wait 'til I can give him a real hug and smother him with kisses," Nancy Coan said.
"I don't know about that," Bill Coan said with a laugh.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.