Liz Dufour | The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mom Drapes Sheet Over ICU Nurse Daughter So They Can Hug: 'I Just Had To'

Updated August 16, 2021

A woman and her ICU nurse daughter recently shared a heartwarming embrace amid the coronavirus pandemic, made possible thanks to a protective sheet and a mother's determination to hug her little girl.

As Good Morning America reported, Cheryl Norton of Blue Ash, Ohio, has been maintaining a safe social distance from her front-line worker daughter, Kelsey Kerr. But when the opportunity for a hug presented itself, this loving momma just couldn't resist.

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On April 3, Kelsey stopped by her mother's house to pick up some prayer shawls for her patients at Christ Hospital.

Kelsey Kerr via Good Morning America

For the past month, 64-year-old Cheryl has been social distancing from her daughter in order to keep them both as safe and as healthy as possible. But as the two stood apart from each other outside her home, she realized she couldn't keep it up anymore.

Spying a clean bed sheet and a perfect opportunity, Cheryl decided she wasn't going to let her daughter leave without getting a much-needed hug first.

So, she grabbed that sheet and draped it over Kelsey before pulling the 28 year old in for a tight embrace.

"I just want to know she’s okay so when I got that one opportunity to see her, I just had to throw that sheet over her," Cheryl told GMA. "I thought I want to hug her and if she has a sheet around her maybe I can do it."

She added, "I see on social media that all these healthcare workers are feeling very isolated and I didn’t want that to happen her."

As Kelsey explained, her mom's spontaneous hug was definitely much appreciated.

Kelsey Kerr via Good Morning America

"It was so nice," she said. "We've always been big huggers and it’s been pretty unusual to do these drop-offs and not get out of the car and be able to hug her."

Kelsey, who lives just 15 minutes away from her mom, has been quarantining with her husband and the couple's dog. She's seen her mom several times in the last month, but has never been able to get too close, because of both Cheryl and her husband's ages, as well as preexisting health conditions.

A family friend happened to walking in the neighborhood at that time and was able to capture a photo of the pair's loving embrace.

Liz Dufour | The Cincinnati Enquirer

Liz Dufour, who is a photographer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, snapped the heartwarming picture from a safe distance and later spoke to Cheryl about her feelings during that special, impromptu hug.

“It felt like my heart went, ahhh. It felt so good to hold her for a second,” Cheryl said. “The thing that was interesting about the photograph is you could see how tight she was holding me. It was like she was home again. She was safe in my arms."

"For that moment, for that split second, she was safe.”

During the hug, Kelsey was wearing a face mask so the pair were still well-protected.

Unsplash | De an Sun

Afterwards, Cheryl said she thoroughly washed her hands and left the bed sheet in her garage for several days before washing it as well.

Kelsey said she hopes the photo of her and her mother will help to show people "a little bit of sunlight".

"There’s so much difficulty right now but we’re going to make it through it and we’re all going to be together in the end," she told GMA. "It’s just a matter of getting there."

h/t: GMA, Cincinnati Enquirer

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