A longtime married couple recently found themselves apart after a pair of unrelated medical emergencies. It’s something that has happened seldomly during the couple’s nearly seven decades together.
Tommy and Virginia Stephens, both 91, went through their lives and 69 years of marriage within arm’s length, hand in hand. When the couple’s health took a turn, Vanderbilt University Medical Center made sure they were able to be together when they needed it most.
Vanderbilt officials said, “Tommy … has Alzheimer’s disease. He had recently been transferred into a memory care unit at the assisted living facility where the couple lived, and they were still able to spend time together. Then, when he began having labored breathing and dangerously low blood pressure, he was transported to VUMC. When illness overwhelmed his body to the point treatment was no longer effective, he was moved to the Medical Center’s Palliative Care Unit.”
Vanderbilt said the same morning Tommy was taken to VUMC, Virginia fell. She suffered six broken ribs, a spinal fracture, and a hip injury, which led to her admission into VUMC’s trauma unit. So Vanderbilt made arrangements to room the couple side-by-side so Virginia could comfort him as his health continued to get worse.
Tommy Stephens died Sept. 8. Virginia Stephens has since been released from the hospital.