An 84-year-old wife has melted the hearts of millions after writing one love letter nearly every day to her 90-year-old husband who was critically ill and hospitalised during the coronavirus outbreak.
Huang Guoqi, from the Chinese city of Hangzhou, penned a total of 45 touching letters in the space of 55 days after the hospital imposed a lockdown, barring all visitors to the ICU to prevent the spread of the virus.
Her husband, Mr Sun, suffers from respiratory failure and dementia and has been hospitalised since last year.
Granny Huang was finally able to visit grandpa Sun again last Thursday at the Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese medicine after the hospital lifted a 55-day lockdown
Granny Huang gave her husband a new love letter as well as a kiss through her face mask
Ms Huang, known among medics as ‘granny Huang’, also has a respiratory disease and stays in the same hospital. Her condition is less serious and therefore has been assigned to an ordinary ward.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, granny Huang would come to visit her husband, affectionately known as grandpa Sun, at 2pm every day with his favourite fruit, the kiwifruit.
Although the hospital imposed visiting restrictions on February 1, granny Huang was not deterred.
She continued to wait by the gate of the ICU wards on the dot daily to ask a nurse to give grandpa Sun a letter and a bowl of kiwifruit.
During the lockdown, granny Huang, also a patient in the hospital, continued to wait by the gate of the ICU wards on the dot daily to ask a nurse to give grandpa Sun a love letter
Apart from the letter, she would bring a bowl of kiwifruit, which is grandpa Sun’s favourite fruit
She used a pen and paper, the simplest way of communication, to express her love for her partner and encourage him to stay strong.
One of the notes wrote: ‘Dear husband, I am well. Please don’t worry about me. Our sons and grandsons are all at home… Please follow the nurses’ orders and cooperate with them for the treatment so that you can recover as soon as possible to enjoy a family reunion.’
Another one cited a romantic Chinese poem to help Ms Sun keep up his spirit. It read: ‘Dear husband, I am using the famous lines from an ancient poet to tell you how much I have missed you. I hope you can receive the treatment with peace of mind. You can boost your immunity by refraining from feeling anxious and reserve your energy.’
Whenever grandpa Sun received granny Huang’s letter, he would read it over and over again before folding the letter carefully and hid it under his belt for safekeeping.
Speaking to Chinese video outlet Pear, granny Huang said: ‘I feel the love from the family, and from me as his spouse, can provide important support to him.’
Whenever grandpa Sun received granny Huang’s letter, he would read it over and over again before folding the letter carefully and hid it under his belt for safekeeping, medics said
The letter on the left cited a romantic Chinese poem to help Ms Sun keep up his spirit. It read: ‘Dear husband, I am using the famous lines from an ancient poet to tell you how much I have missed you. I hope you can receive the treatment with peace of mind’
After nearly eight weeks of separation, granny Huang was finally allowed to meet grandpa Sun after the hospital lifted the visiting restriction last Thursday.
She wore a face mask and protective clothing and waited excitedly in front of the ICU department at 2pm sharp – with a bowl of kiwifruit in hand.
After being shown to grandpa Sun’s bed, granny Huang gave him a new love letter and a kiss through her face mask.
‘My dear husband, I have come to see you. We have not seen each other for more than 50 days,’ granny Huang said to grandpa Sun before praising his good spirit and ‘chubbier cheeks’.
The hospital said in a social media post that grandpa Sun tried ‘very hard’ to recover during the lockdown by doing a series of exercises under the instruction of doctors
Apart from reading granny Huang’s letters, grandpa Sun tried ‘very hard’ to recover during the lockdown by doing a series of exercises under the instruction of doctors, according to medics at the Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese medicine, who documented the beautiful story.
The medical team said it was granny Huang’s love that kept grandpa Sun going in such a difficult period.
‘[We] hope you two can live together for a long time. Add oil, granny Huang and grandpa Sun,’ the hospital said in a social media post.