Mackenna, 17, loves her mom and dad. But she also knows they love each other to the moon and back. Recently, Mackenna snapped a photo of her dad sitting outside of a bedroom and shared the image with her friends and followers on social media. She wanted the world to know what it meant for her father to be sitting outside her mother’s room while the woman underwent isolation as part of her radiation treatments for thyroid cancer.
Because the cancer treatments required mom to remain in isolation, her husband, Jon Newman, knew that she was going to be lonely. Instead of just letting his wife suffer by herself after undergoing grueling cancer treatments, he sat in the doorway and talked to her for hours to keep her company and to let her know just how much he loved her.
MacKenna came home after school and caught her dad keeping her mom company. He was seated in a chair outside of the bedroom with the door cracked open. Her parents were following the doctor’s orders, but they were doing their best to remain in close contact so mom would not be lonely as she fought against the cancer that was eating her body alive.
“My mom has to stay in her room in isolation for her cancer radiation, so my dad set up a desk at her door to keep her company, and I’m crying,” Mackenna wrote on Twitter.
It goes without saying that Mackenna’s photo went viral on the popular social media platform. It received more than 70,000 retweets and 172,000 likes in short order. And people contributed their comments to the image, which made it even more heartwarming for Mackenna to see that her father’s love for her mother was inspiring people she did not even know.
“Amazing…may she heal soon. My heart goes out to you and your family,” another user added. “Stay strong. You have an amazing Dad.”
“Kenna, I’m a #ThyCa survivor & a nurse. This is the sweetest!” wrote another user. “Loads of love [and] luck to your mom! Please let me know if I can help.”
“My heart is melting. Tell your mom I’m praying for her [and] your Fam,” added another. “Your parents are amazing. Praying for a positive outcome for you all!”
“Beautiful! True, beautiful, [meaningful] love,” wrote one Twitter user. “All the best to your mom.”
“I am a little late discovering this inspiring tweet. Thinking of you and your family. Your parents are amazing,” wrote another. “Your dad. Incredible!”
Mackenna was touched by all of the support she received from strangers on social media. She replied to all the love with the following message:
“The amount of love I’ve received is crazy, and I didn’t expect any of it, but I’m so grateful,” Mackenna told BuzzFeed News. “I just thought it was sweet because they are so in love.”
Later, Mackenna’s mom, Marci, came forward to say that her husband often did kind things like this.
“Jon goes to every doctor’s appointment, every blood test, every surgery, every radiation,” Marci said. “And, as you can see, if he can’t be by my side, he is as close as he can get!”