Council Bluffs family spread message of hope after viral video online

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A family from Council Bluffs is gaining a lot of attention on social media after posting a touching video this week.

The video shows the Fidone children saying goodnight to their father receiving chemotherapy at Nebraska Medicine.

Mark Fidone started chemo at Nebraska Medicine in 2019. His family has been by his side every step of the way.

Most days of the week, they are in the room with him while he is being treated.

“We act as if we are at home. We sit on the couch and talk about our day and talk about training and who we struggled against and how it went. We talk about what’s on TV. Just very normal stuff, â€said Melissa Fidone, Mark’s wife.

Mark’s wife Melissa says it hasn’t always been like this, however. When the pandemic struck, it was overwhelming for the whole family.

“The first time he came here, I was not allowed to enter the room. I put it down and sat in the garage and read a book for five hours and it was hard. I couldn’t speak to any nurses or doctors and had no relationship with anyone there and it was lonely for him.

Such precious moments like this, as a family, are not taken for granted. That’s where this video comes in, which is now gaining popularity online.

“We had visited him and went down here to eat afterwards and he called and was like ‘hey, can you get them over and wave. “”

“We were really excited to see dad flashing his lights up there,†said Zeta and Sebastiano Fidone.

It’s a time the family say they didn’t expect to get so much attention on social media. But they say they hope other families going through something similar will use it as a message of hope.

“Every time someone says it’s hard, I can’t believe you have to go through this. We just know it’s temporary.

And of course they have a message for dad.

“I love you daddy! I love you!”

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