Cancer patient asked her nurse to adopt her young son when she died
Oncology nurse Tricia Seaman has been praised by many over the years, but no patient has ever given her a greater compliment than Tricia Somers did.
"Before she even said anything, I just felt comfort. It was almost like somebody just put a warm blanket on me," Somers told CBS News eight years ago. "I've never felt anything like that before or any other connection with anybody else."
Somers swore she met an angel.
Somers, a single mom with an 8-year-old son, Wesley, had just found out her cancer was terminal and was at a hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when she met Seaman.
"What do you say to somebody?" Seaman said at the time about her patient's diagnosis. "She's 45 years old. So I just gave her a hug and she said, 'I have something that I need to ask you.'"
Somers asked: "Can you take my son? Will you raise him if I die?"
The two women were strangers. Nevertheless, Seaman, her husband and family agreed.
Somers died not long after. And eight years have since come and gone.
Wesley just turned 16 and now has a learner's permit. Before his mom died, she bought gifts for him to open as he got older. Most recently, a key chain, for when he gets his first car. In small ways like that, nurse and patient are still raising the boy together.
"I think it was the only thing she could think to do, really. And I'm thankful everyday that she made that decision," Wesley said of his mom.
And the women's teamwork seems to be paying off. Seaman says Wesley is a straight-A student and model child.
"He's exceptional. But the most important thing is he just has such a kind and loving heart," Seaman said.
Really, how could he not? He's been touched by angels.
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