She misses hugs from husband of 50 years

Carla Sherrod holds photos of her husband, Eddie, a Korean War veteran.

“Our first date was at a drive-in. It was on his birthday, Nov. 6, 1964. We saw ‘Ride the Wild Surf.’ On Thanksgiving night he proposed to me and I accepted. It all happened pretty fast. One kiss was all it took. We got married April 2, 1965, and we stayed that way for 50 years.

“In 2005 he had a severe heart attack, and I almost lost him. He continued having health problems right and left, had several surgeries and stress-related seizures. He’d get real emotional and stressed out because it really bothered him that he wasn’t able to work anymore.

“Last month the doctor thought he had fluid on his lungs and around his heart, and asked us to come in the next day. On our way to the VA Hospital, he was in the front seat with my son and just started leaning over with his tongue sticking out. When we got there, they took him straight to the emergency room and then put him in ICU.

“They were going to run this test on him because they thought he had a stroke. While I was waiting, I heard the code blue and it scared me so badly. I kept telling myself that it wasn’t him, it can’t be him. The doctor finally came and said they were trying to revive him, but he didn’t respond.

— Carla Sherrod