Bert Whitehead and his wife Beatrice have been married for 67 years and have been virtually inseparable since they met.
But tragedy struck last month, when 87-year-old Beatrice was admitted to Royal Bolton Hospital due to bone cancer. A few weeks later, Bert, 90, was also brought into the hospital after his health declined rapidly.
The couple was in different wards due to their different conditions and the only way Bert could see his wife was in a wheelchair with the rest of the family.
An earlier photo of the couple. Credit: SWNS
But their son-in-law, Stephen Hall, says staff moved them into the same room so that they could be together. Mr Hall has told the Bolton News: "It is devastating. There's a specialist palliative team that are taking care of her at the moment.
"When they were put together Bert just gave the biggest smile, it was a really touching moment. They have been absolutely brilliant the staff, we can't fault them whatsoever. We just want to say thank you to them all."
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Royal Bolton Hospital has released a statement: "We take every step possible to support patients and their relatives when they are approaching end of life. We know how much the little things matter and we do all we can to get them right. Our staff understood how important it was for Mr Whitehead to be by his wife's side at this difficult time and have made changes on the ward to move them into a separate bay together.
"Mr Whitehead has been by his wife's side ever since."
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Unfortunately, Beatrice has been given just days to live.
Their daughter Suzanne Hall says they have spent very little time away from each other since they met.
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Beatrice was just 15 when they were introduced and they got married in 1950, when Bert came back from national service. They have three children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Featured Image Credit: SWNS