Forrest General Hospital’s employee Shay Lane, Central Sterile tech had the ultimate Valentine experience. At approximately 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 13, Lane received a phone call from the lobby saying she had a special delivery package. The caller requested directions to get to where she worked and let her know they would bring the package up.

A short time later there was a knock on the door, and when Lane opened it, she saw her husband, Sean Lane standing there with a bouquet of roses and a huge teddy bear. “I screamed and jumped into his arms,” said Lane. “He was dressed in his fatigues and looked wonderful. My whole department yelled and clapped,” said Lane. “I just cried with happiness! I remember Mrs. Mary coming over to us, she gave him a hug and thanked him for serving our country,” said Lane.

“When Shay squeezed him, at one point I heard him say, ‘Oh be careful, my ribs are still sore from the last bomb that went off,’” said Mary McCarthy, interim nurse manager of Surgical Services. “I can’t tell you how real it made it all. We watch the news every night with such complacency, and these are the family members of the people we work with,” said McCarthy.

Sean Lane has been serving in Iraq and hasn’t seen his wife for over a year. Sean and Shay have three kids. The Lane family lives in Hattiesburg. “We sent her home with him and told her she could take two weeks off to be with the family before he returns to his unit,” said McCarthy.

“It was the most exciting day we’ve had in a long time. It was what movies are made of,” said McCarthy.

Sean Lane has since returned to Iraq to protect and serve the United States. He is expected to be home in July of 2007.