Robert and Janice had been married for almost 46 years when Robert started feeling sick. He had many of the symptoms of COVID-19. In an interview with WUSA9, he listed each symptom, “Shortness of breath, loss of appetite, my senses – smelling, taste – I mean, totally gone, and then the cough.”

Eventually, Robert and Janice’s son insisted that Robert go to the hospital. They knew it was serious, but they didn’t tell each other how serious they thought it might be. Robert didn’t tell his wife, but he “prayed and made peace with God and told him I was ready to come home.” 

Meanwhile, as Janice watched her son and husband leave for the hospital, she prayed, “Lord do what you do best.”

Robert was admitted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. This was far from his first time there. In the past, he had suffered from two strokes, so he knew the hospital pretty well. 

He was tested for COVID-19 and taken to the 6th floor. About a day later, the doctors came back, and he knew he had tested positive. He remembers, “They came back a day or so later in full gear – the gowns, the masks and said, ‘Mr. Beecham, we’re taking you to the third floor, and I knew then why I was there.” He knew the 3rd floor was for COVID patients.

Janice wasn’t able to visit her husband at the hospital. Visitors weren’t allowed, and she was fighting her own battle with cancer. She was getting ready for her very first chemo treatment when she found out her husband had COVID-19. 

Robert was determined to get better, and a huge reason for that was so that he could be with his wife as she battled cancer. Also, he wanted to be home in time to spend their 46th anniversary together.

Robert credits his recovery to Dr. Satyam Nayak. He said, “I liked him from the moment he came in. He just had this quiet voice and he helped to calm me, so I told him, ‘You know doctor, this is unfair. All three times I was at Parkland – 2014, 2016 and now 2020 – it happened during my anniversary. That is so unfair.’”

Watch the video below to hear from Robert, Janice, and the doctor that made it his personal mission to get Robert home in time for his anniversary.

While not all stories about COVID-19 have a happy ending, we’re certainly glad that this one does.