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Watch: EMS Worker Surprises His Boyfriend with COVID Shot Proposal

by Kilian Melloy

EDGE Staff Reporter

Tuesday January 5, 2021

An EMS worker in South Dakota popped the question to his boyfriend, a registered nurse, in a creative way: He had a ring hidden under his sleeve when he went in for his COVID-19 vaccination.

The joyful surprise was captured on video and shared at Facebook by Sanford Health.

"Eric Vanderlee, a registered nurse in Canton, South Dakota, has been helping administer the COVID-19 vaccine to local health care workers. But he noticed something strange when he went to give the shot to one fellow Sanford Health employee," the post at the Sanford Health Facebook page, says.

"Robby Vargas-Cortes, an EMS supervisor and Eric's boyfriend, had an engagement ring taped to his arm. Robby got his vaccine — and an enthusiastic yes from his now fianc�. Congratulations, Eric and Robby!"

CNN picked up the story of love in a time of pandemic, reporting on how Vargas-Cortes planned it out so that the vaccination became a memorable moment for the couple.

The ring was taped to Vargas-Cortes' arm underneath his sleeve, CNN reported. When the paramedic rolled up his sleeve, Vanderlee "thought his boyfriend was jokingly indicating where the vaccine should go, 'like a bulls eye or something.' "

Then he realized what was going on.

"It just kind of dawned on me and I was like, 'absolutely, of course, yes,' " Vanderlee recalled. "It was just an amazing moment after I figured it out."

Vargas-Cortes had been holding on to the ring for three years, CNN reported, "and was waiting for the right moment to pop the question."

Said Vargas-Cortes: "We're nearing the end of the pandemic. The vaccine is kind of like a new chapter."

Vargas-Cortes added that it's a new world in the wake of the pandemic. "We wouldn't have had the right to marry without the Supreme Court in 2015," he noted. "So to see such an outpouring of support, especially from our fellow South Dakotans, has been uplifting."

Adding that he used to be "scared to hold his hand in public," Vargas-Cortes reflected that, "now that this has happened, that seems kind of silly."

Watch the video of the surprising moment in the Facebook post below.


Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.