NEW ORLEANS —
Everyone could use a little boost right now, and that’s what happened for one COVID-19 patient when her grandson called on a friend for help.
But one simple act of kindness ended up going viral and helping families across the country.
Several years ago WWLTV told viewers about the Watkins family's identical twins, Lois and Lynn, both with lupus. Lynn passed away before getting a kidney transplant.
When she was sick, Broadway, film and TV actor Bryan Batt brought her cheer through song.
But Lois’ son Eben Smitherman never forgot what Bryan did for Aunt Lynn, and asked for his kindness again.
Bryan's always been there kind of at the drop of a hat for anybody’s that’s sick," said Eben Smitherman a fourth-year Tulane Medical Student.
Eben’s grandmother Bubbles Watkins is in her 80s. She just got out of the hospital after 11 days, suffering from COVID-19. She calls the medical staff heroes.
"They are not worried about themselves. They are worried about others, and that is something to really appreciate and thank the Dear Lord for," said Bubbles Watkins, Eben’s grandmother.
Eben will graduate from Tulane Medical School next month. Commencement, of course, is called off. He is taking care of his grandmother at her home and had an idea.
"It is a song of hope, and it’s a very frightening time. But we must always remember there is always hope, and we can get through this," said actor and singer Bryan Batt.
Eben asked Bryan to sing ‘Tomorrow’ from the musical Annie. His sidewalk serenade was a surprise.
"It’s made my whole situation turn around. It’s been the most loving, kind gift that anybody could give," said Watkins.
"She called me the next day to just say she will never forget it as long as she lives. To me, that’s the best present," said Batt.
The video went viral. So many people these days can relate. Even the daughter of the man who wrote the lyrics posted to Bryan; her father would have loved it.
"It really means a lot to me just knowing all of my teachers and everybody and all of our patients that are in the hospital that, that truly was a gesture, not just to my grandmother, but it was for everybody," said Smitherman.
Now before he even gets his long white coat and starts his residency training, he is already healing patients from afar.
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