During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, 65-year-old Rene Johnson Sr. of Manchester, New Hampshire was admitted to Catholic Medical Center after contracting the virus and struggling to breathe. Like so many families at the time, his five children and their loved ones were barred from entering the hospital. So they did the only thing they could — they set up camp in the parking lot and refused to leave. For nearly two weeks, the family stood outside in all weather, holding signs that read "I love you dad" and "We miss you." The nurses inside responded in kind, pressing handwritten messages to his window: "We will make sure he's comfortable and in no pain," "We will hold his hand," and "We will tell him you love him." The staff came to know the Johnson family well — they were rain or shine, every single day, and became famous among the hospital workers. On May 17, 2020, Rene passed away with nurses Kaitlin Kerrigan and Lynn Harkins holding his hands. They told him he had fought hard and done a great job with his family. Moments later, the two nurses walked to his window and pressed up two signs for the family waiting below: "He is at peace" and "We are so sorry." One placed her hand on the glass. The other made a heart. The family had already received the call, but that gesture meant everything. His daughter Angela later said the nurses were "forever a part of our story and family now." The very next day, the Johnson family returned to the parking lot — not for their father, but to support the other patients and families who had no one standing outside for them. In the darkest chapter of the pandemic, two nurses made sure a man didn't die alone, and a family made sure the world knew about it.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, 65-year-old Rene Johnson Sr. of Manchester, New Hampshire was admitted to Catholic Medical Center after contracting the virus and struggling to breathe. Like so many families at the time, his five children and their loved ones were barred from entering the hospital. So they did the only thing they could — they set up camp in the parking lot and refused to leave. For nearly two weeks, the family stood outside in all weather, holding signs that read "I love you dad" and "We miss you." The nurses inside responded in kind, pressing handwritten messages to his window: "We will make sure he's comfortable and in no pain," "We will hold his hand," and "We will tell him you love him." The staff came to know the Johnson family well — they were rain or shine, every single day, and became famous among the hospital workers. On May 17, 2020, Rene passed away with nurses Kaitlin Kerrigan and Lynn Harkins holding his hands. They told him he had fought hard and done a great job with his family. Moments later, the two nurses walked to his window and pressed up two signs for the family waiting below: "He is at peace" and "We are so sorry." One placed her hand on the glass. The other made a heart. The family had already received the call, but that gesture meant everything. His daughter Angela later said the nurses were "forever a part of our story and family now." The very next day, the Johnson family returned to the parking lot — not for their father, but to support the other patients and families who had no one standing outside for them. In the darkest chapter of the pandemic, two nurses made sure a man didn't die alone, and a family made sure the world knew about it.