Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has turned people's lives completely upside down.
With so many lives lost and still at risk, the coronavirus has disrupted our sense of normalcy, and for many, their mental health has taken a hit due to extended periods of self-isolation and lockdowns.
Until very recently, one New York grandma had not seen her family in a year - and it was because of the gesture of one doctor that she was finally able to embrace her granddaughter.
In order for grandmother Evelyn Shaw to feel safe after months of anxiety amid the crisis, her doctor gave her "permission" to hug her granddaughter, Ateret Frank - and even wrote her a prescription to do so.
Taking to Twitter, one of Eveyln's daughters, Jessica Shaw, shared: "My mom’s doctor wrote her a prescription to hug her granddaughter."
Jessica then posted a sweet video of the hug Evelyn had waited so long for, writing: "First hug she’s had in a year. Thank you to all the scientists and doctors who made this happen!"
Jessica's sister, Laura Shaw Frank - a doctor herself - took to Twitter as well to share the touching story.
She wrote: "THIS is holistic medical care. Our mom's doctor (also mine and my daughter's doctor) knows that our mom is very nervous to return to the world even after vax x2 + 2 weeks. She figured out how to ease her path. Medical care from the heart."
"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.
"It was blissful, it was wonderful and it was something I am going to remember for the rest of my life," she added.
Evelyn told CNN that Ateret and Laura had snown up at her apartment with "a little gift" but she remained concerned about the potential risk.
"My granddaughter had completed her COVID protocol but I was not going to let her in... even though I had completed my vaccines," Evelyn explained to the outlet. "I was stuck in COVID land."
However, after she opened the gift and read the prescription, Evelyn said "something happened to me."
"Having this prescription from my doctor gave me the courage to let her in," she explained to the outlet.
It was then that Evelyn let Ateret inside the apartment, and the pair shared a long and much-needed cuddle.
