Sean Tiwanak has been a patient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for two weeks, waiting for a new heart for a transplant. He says it’s been especially difficult during the pandemic since visitors aren’t allowed and so he has taken to serenading hospital staff with his ukulele.

When Dr. Lily Stern, who is a part of his cardiac care team, heard about the musical performances, she decided to stop in and take a listen.

Not long after, the two started harmonizing.

“You know it’s hard when you don’t have any sort of human contact. She really helped me that day to get through,” Tiwanak said. “When I play music, even now, it helps me have a positive attitude and forget things going on around me.”

Kimberly Cheng reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on Aug. 6, 2020.