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Kansas Farmer with Immunocompromised Wife Sends NY Gov. Cuomo One N95 Mask For A Nurse or Doctor Who Needs It More [Video]

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  • New York Governor Andrew Cuomo received a letter from a retired farmer and his immunocompromised wife living in Kansas, enclosed inside the letter is one N95 mask.
  • The couple requests the governor to give the mask to a nurse or doctor working at the frontlines as the demand for N95 masks continues to increase.
  • The governor reads the letter for the public at his daily press briefing on Friday, saying that the courage and generosity of spirit from the gesture are what make the world a better place.

Dennis and Sharon Ruhnke penned New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to send one of their N95 masks from the last of their supplies, requesting the governor to pass the respiratory protective device to those working at the frontlines.

Governor Cuomo read the letter for the public at his daily press briefing on Friday.

“I am a retired farmer hunkered down in northeast Kansas with my wife who has but one lung and occasional problems with her remaining lung. She also has diabetes… We are in our 70s now and frankly, I am afraid for her,” the letter reads.

https://www.facebook.com/GovernorAndrewCuomo/photos/a.340271619337391/3217633818267809/?type=3&theater

The governor decided to share the letter on social media. He posted, “I received this letter from a farmer in northeast Kansas. His wife is ill, and he is aging. He sent me one of five N95 masks he has from farming to pass on to a doctor or nurse in New York. This is humanity at its best. I share his letter as inspiration.”

“Enclosed, find a solitary N95 mask leftover from my farming days. It has never been used…If you could, could you please give this mask to a nurse or a doctor in your city?” Dennis wrote.

Governor Cuomo became emotional after reading the letter the farmer wrote, impressed at how selfless a person could become. He commented, “How beautiful is that? How selfless is that? How giving is that?” after reading the letter aloud.

“It’s that love, that courage, that generosity of spirit that makes this country so beautiful.”

The donation comes at a time when the supply of personal protective equipment in the country becomes limited, putting the healthcare and other frontline workers at risk. This is what pushed the farmer to look for N95 masks supplies on their farm.

ABC News | Dennis Ruhnke

Dennis Ruhnke said, “Simply watching the news, and day after day after day the death was rising. And they were pushing the N-95 thing so much. I thought I had some masks somewhere. I went back to the farm, dug around in some masks and lo and behold they were there.”

Sharon Ruhnke is immunocompromised and is entitled to use the N95 mask to protect herself, but the couple decided to send the protective device that remains from their farm supplies knowing that they had more than they need. It is these things that ensure that the world will move forward, ensuring everybody that we will emerge from this crisis stronger and better united.

“I would have felt terrible if I threw it away, but it made me feel pretty good to send it on to somebody who might be able to use it,” Dennis said. “They sounded almost desperate for masks. So I thought, it was just one little gesture. But maybe if you get enough of these little gestures, it will all come out for the better in the end.”

Source: Tank’s Good News

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