A California couple named Jon and Marci Newman are receiving love and support from all over the world this week.
It started after a photo began circulating of the duo's unique and sweet approach to the medical isolation necessary for Marci to complete her radiation treatment.
The photo, posted by their daughter Mackenna, shows Jon sitting vigil outside his wife's door.
Marci is going through the radiation treatment for thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is a very common cancer, and usually very treatable with rapid medical intervention.
Radiation is a key piece of that rapid treatment, attacking the disease head-on.
However, radiation treatment also has an unfortunate side effect. It makes the patient slightly radioactive.
While a patient is recovering, they need to be isolated from other people, even their loved ones, until the radioactive particles fade.
That's why Marci is still recovering in isolation, but her loving husband Jon decided that 'isolated' doesn't have to mean 'alone.'
Scroll through to see the sweet and creative way he is standing by his wife, in sickness and in health.
[H/T: Woman's Day]
The photo first started circulating when the couple's daughter Mackenna tweeted a photo of the beautiful moment.
Mackenna, a high school senior, was incredibly touched by the way her parents' love transcends limitations like medical isolation and illness.
She quickly snapped a photo and put it online.
Mackenna posted the snapshot to her Twitter account, where it quickly took off.
People all over the world started sharing, favoriting, and responding to the sweet image.
The photo, posted earlier this month, has already been retweeted 8,900 times, and more than 11,000 people have favorited the lovely image.
Mackenna shared the image along with the caption, "My mom has to stay in her room in isolation for her cancer radiation so my dad set up a desk at her door to keep her company and I'm crying."
The photo shows Jon Newman sitting in front of a slightly cracked door.
He has the whole set-up, complete with a desk and papers, and he's peeking through the door at his wife Marci.
He may not technically be at her bedside, but he's determined to get as close as possible.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Marci Newman explained that this is par for the course when it comes to her affectionate husband.
"Jon goes to every doctor's appointment, every blood test, every surgery, every radiation. And, as you can see, if he can't be by my side he is as close as he can get!"
He definitely does his best to embody one of the most famous wedding vows of them all: "to have and to hold… in sickness and in health."
While the medical isolation might seem scary, it just goes with the territory when it comes to radiation treatment.
When treating cancer with radiation, you're using radioactive material to target the dangerous cancer cells.
This treatment is very effective, but for a while afterward, the patient might be slightly radioactive.
Those radioactive particles might hurt their loved ones if they get too close.
Mackenna Newman tells LittleThings, "Thyroid cancer is very common, and usually is not as severe as my mom's, but I'd like to bring awareness to that."
It's important for everyone to know the symptoms, which include:
- Pain in the neck
- Lump in the neck
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Hoarseness or voice change
- Trouble swallowing
If you’re concerned about thyroid cancer, you can learn more from Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
Be sure to SHARE the Newman family's powerful story to raise awareness about this disease, and spread the word about their sweet approach to fighting this illness.
