A grandmother got a surprise visit from her family who lined up on her front lawn to wish her a happy 95th birthday from a safe distance after her party got canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kathleen Byrne from Syracuse, New York, stood on her front stoop and waved while more than a dozen of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren sang her ‘Happy Birthday’ on Wednesday.
Her granddaughter Sara Byrne shared a video of the heartwarming moment on Instagram, writing: ‘We had to keep our distance but we couldn’t not see our best girl on her birthday!!! Happy 95th Gram we love you SO much!!!’
Keeping close: Kathleen Byrne from Syracuse, New York, got a surprise visit from her family who lined up on her front lawn to wish her a happy 95th birthday on Wednesday
Special moment: Kathleen stood on her front stoop while more than a dozen of her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids sang her ‘Happy Birthday’
In the clip, Kathleen’s family is holding up balloons and signs that spell out ‘Happy Birthday’ while they sing to her from across her front yard.
‘Oh, I love it. Thank you,’ the grandma yells to them. ‘I’m sorry we aren’t all together. But you are all together.’
Kathleen, who has seven sons, 22 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren, was thrilled to see her family while self-quarantined in her home.
‘She has done so much for our family and we are so so thankful to still have her, especially during this crazy time our world is going through,’ her granddaughter told CNN.
Celebration: Her granddaughter Sara Byrne shared a video of the heartwarming moment on Instagram, saying they ‘couldn’t not see our best girl on her birthday’
Special moment: In the clip, Kathleen’s family is holding up balloons and signs that spell out ‘Happy Birthday’ while they sing to her from across her front yard
Response: ‘Oh, I love it. Thank you,’ the grandma yells to them. ‘I’m sorry we aren’t all together. But you are all together’
‘We wanted to show up for her to make her feel special on her big day no matter what.’
As of Thursday, there have been more than 11,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the U.S. and 165 deaths.
According to a data analysis released on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 per cent of deaths associated with the coronavirus in the U.S. were in adults aged 65 and older.
Public health officials are urging Americans, especially the elderly, to self-quarantine to reduce the spread of the virus.
Matriarch: Kathleen has seven sons, 22 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren
Big day: Kathleen’s birthday party was postponed due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, but she was thrilled to see her family from a distance on her big day
Most nursing homes and care centers in the U.S. have restricted visitation and gone on lockdown to protect those who are most vulnerable.
Families across the country have been finding creative ways to visit and celebrate their elderly relatives’ milestones.
Tess Wilson, 88, from Newberry, South Carolina, received a much-needed surprise visit from her great-grandkids who stood outside the window of her nursing home on Monday.
The grandmother moved into SpringField Place & JF Hawkins last month and has been struggling with the adjustment, especially now that she can no longer get visitors.
‘We love you Nanny’: Tess Wilson, 88, from Newberry, South Carolina, also received a much-needed surprise visit from her great-grandkids at her nursing home this week
Making her day:Tess’s great-grandchildren stood outside of her window and held up the signs, and she sweetly blew kisses to them in return
Her daughter Lynn Underwood snapped a photo of Matthew, three, Avery, nine, Warren, seven, Ethan, eight, and Sally, two, holding up homemade signs that spell out ‘We love you Nanny.’
Tess’ granddaughter Lisa Walker shared the sweet image on Instagram, writing: ‘Corona didn’t stop Le Le from taking these cuties to visit Nanny at the nursing home. They just had to stay outside.’
Lynn told Today that she regrets not turning the camera to her mother as she sweetly blew kisses to her great-grandchildren and they blew them back to her.
‘Not being able to go in and be with her is terribly sad. It’s hard for all of us to be separated,’ Lisa said. ‘But she gets so happy when she talks about that visit.’