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Married couple of 52 years, separated by coronavirus, reunite after almost two months apart

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A California couple married for 52 years have reunited after COVID-19 separated them for almost two months.

After 55 days apart, Joyce and Al Vaughn met in person on Wednesday, a welcome reunion after weeks of FaceTime calls. Though they weren’t allowed to touch or hug, it was still an emotional reunion. Both Joyce and Al were diagnosed with COVID-19, and while Joyce bounced back from hospitalization quickly, Al was put on a ventilator for weeks inside the ICU.


“The list of things that was wrong with him,” Joyce said. “He had pneumonia, he has sepsis, he had pancreatitis, his kidneys have failed, his liver is recovering but in bad shape, he had c-diff, any one of those things can take you.”

However, Al has made a slow and steady recovery and has been removed from the ICU. Although the virus nearly took his life, Al said the universe had other plans for him. 

“I’ve got a lot of people praying for me,” Al said. “I know that prayers have been answered on both ends.”

The reunion comes just days after the couple were able to FaceTime for the first time since their hospitalization:

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