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'Hug Time' Machine Reunites Loved Ones Separated By COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thanks to her family's ingenuity, a Rockford grandmother can hug her loved ones again without worrying about the coronavirus.

Rose Gagnon went from seeing her great-grandchildren every day to not hugging them in more than two months.

But she gathered them in her arms again for the first time this week, thanks to a invention by her granddaughter. Using some pvc pipes, a window insulator kit and duct tape Carly Marinaro built a 'hug time' machine.

It allows her kids to safely wrap up in their great-grandmother's embrace.

"I was getting to the point of oh my gosh I can't handle this," Marinaro said. "I need to hug her. The kids need to hug her. So it was just so worth it."

"My heart felt like it was going to burst," said grandma Rose Gagnon. "It filled my heart."

Carly said her "hug time" device has garnered international attention. She hopes other families can use the idea to hug their loved ones.

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