Jim and Lisa Tally are high school sweethearts so when Lisa was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the only thing Jim wanted was to be by his bride's side. But because of COVID-19, visitors are not allowed in the hospital.
"It was hard! When your spouse is in the hospital, all you want to do is be with your spouse," Jim said. "I've been married to her for 37 years. We dated for 5 years before that. Forty-two years with the woman. I know nothing else. She's my high school sweetheart and my best friend."
She was still in the hospital,at Texas Health Fort Worth, on her birthday. Jim sent his wife a happy birthday message just after midnight on Lisa's birthday. Shortly after that message, he got a phone call from her doctor who said Lisa required emergency surgery.
Luckily the surgery went well and Jim was more determined than ever to see his wife and wish her a happy birthday.
He had an idea. Being the owner of a construction company, Jim wanted to use a scissor lift so he could see his wife face-to-face, even if she was in the hospital and he was outside.
With the help of nurses, like Dorothy Alexander, and some of his colleagues, they were able to take the scissor lift to Texas Health Fort Worth and get in front of a window.
"I just wanted to sing happy birthday to her like I have for the past 40 years," Jim said.
"We got her to the room," said Dorothy, Lisa's nurse. "Next thing you know we see the lift going up."
The lift went up 30 feet, high enough to see Lisa face-to-face on the second floor.
"They started singing happy birthday to her. She was crying. I was crying," Dorothy said.
Jim cried tears of joy as well.
"That was all I wanted to do. We did it. It was successful. She loved it. I loved it," Jim said.
The grand gesture brought tears to everyone's eyes and hope to their hearts.
"When you have a construction company and the equipment to do it, it made it easy," Jim said. "I think it's something she'll remember forever. I'll remember it forever. That's how much I love her!"
We're proud to call Jim Tally this week's KRLD Difference Maker.