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Man Writes Touching Letter To Cambridge Hospital Staff That Cared For Dying Wife

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – A Boston man's moving ode to the hospital workers who cared for his wife in her finals days is striking a chord with many.

Peter DeMarco's piece, called "A Letter to the Doctors and Nurses Who Cared for My Wife," was one of the most-read stories on the New York Times website Friday and has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.

His wife Laura, just 34 years old, died of an asthma attack recently at CHA Cambridge Hospital.

DeMarco writes that family and friends seem surprised that he got to know the doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists, social workers and even the cleaning staff in the intensive care unit who looked after Laura.

"'How do you remember any of their names?' they ask. How could I not, I respond."

The grieving widower pays tribute to the "professionalism, and kindness, and dignity" that was shown to his wife.

"When she needed shots, you apologized that it was going to hurt a little, whether or not she could hear," he wrote. "You spread a blanket, not only when her body temperature needed regulating, but also when the room was just a little cold, and you thought she'd sleep more comfortably that way."

He also says the hospital's kind way of comforting him during that difficult time gave him the strength to make it through the week.

"How many times did you hug me and console me when I fell to pieces, or ask about Laura's life and the person she was, taking the time to look at her photos or read the things I'd written about her?," DeMarco wrote. "How many times did you deliver bad news with compassionate words, and sadness in your eyes?"

In closing, DeMarco says he'll forever be thankful to the staff for letting the married couple spend one last hour alone together, side by side in her hospital bed.

"I will remember that last hour together for the rest of my life" he wrote. "It was a gift beyond gifts, and I have Donna and Jen to thank for it."

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