Family sings happy birthday to 95-year-old grandma from afar amid pandemic

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - One family in Syracuse, N.Y. found a way to send their beloved grandmother birthday cheer, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 18, Sara Byrne posted a video to her Instagram account of her family singing happy birthday to Kathleen, Byrne's 95-year-old grandmother. The family stood a good distance away from their grandmother as a means of protection.

"We had to cancel her birthday party to keep her safe so one of my cousins suggested it," Sara said. "We have a cousin group text going and we planned it in there. We were there for about 20 mins, we didn’t want to stay too long. She loved it!"

The Byrnes' birthday wish quicly blew up on social media, garnering thousands of likes and tens of thousands of views since posting, with many commenters sharing how much the video touched them.

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"A lot of them saying they lost their grandparents and to hug her tight after all this is over," Sara said. "We planned to have a party this Saturday for her and had to cancel but we are all just thankful she is still here and healthy. She has seven sons, 22 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren!"

Sara remarked on how her family is spread all across the country and that they were facetiming other cousins who couldn't be there in person.

"She had the biggest smile," Sara said, "and told us all how surprised she was and happy!"

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This story was reported from Los Angeles.