SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) – One patient hospitalized due to COVID-19 decided to give back to his caregivers at McKay-Dee Hospital.
Grover Wilhelmsen reportedly asked if he could play his violin for them while in the ICU to help lift their spirits. He couldn’t speak to them while intubated, but he could show them his appreciation through music, according to health officials.
Ciara Sase, a Registered Nurse at the hospital was taking care of Grover when she learned about his idea of playing.
“He was intubated and unable to talk, but I knew from the other nurses that he’s a retired orchestra teacher. He’s been playing and teaching his entire life.”
Courtesy: Intermountain Healthcare 
Courtesy: Intermountain Healthcare
Ciara says Grover was communicating with her on a piece of paper and he began telling her about his history with music and how much joy it brings him. She says, “Toward the middle of my shift he wrote, ‘You know, I really want to play here at the hospital. What do you think about my wife bringing in my violin and viola?’, according to hospital officials.
“I said to him, ‘We’d love to hear you play, it would bring so much brightness and positivity into our environment.”
Ciara and her coworkers worked out details to safely get an instrument to Grover and cleared it with hospital officials. Hospital officials also monitored his health and vitals closely as he played for them.
Grover’s wife, Diana, brought both his violin and viola into the hospital, along with some music books.
Grover reportedly played for a few hours for two days in a row.
Since ICU rooms have glass doors that are kept shut Ciara, turned on her Vocera (a communication device that helped everyone outside the glass hear) so her colleagues could hear Grover play through the glass.
About a dozen caregivers reportedly gathered to watch and listen in the ICU. Grover played songs including the Tennessee Waltz and lots of church hymns,
“It brought tears to my eyes. For all the staff to see a patient doing this while intubated was unbelievable,” Ciara says. “Even though he was so sick, he was still able to push through. You could see how much it meant to him. Playing kind of helped to soothe his nerves and brought him back to the moment.”
Matt Harper, RN, says, “It was honestly shocking to be there when he picked up the violin. It felt like I was in a dream. I’m used to patients being miserable or sedated while being intubated, but Grover made an unfortunate situation into something positive. This was by far one of my favorite memories in the ICU that I’ve had. It was a small light in the darkness of COVID.”
After spending more than a month battling COVID-19 at McKay-Dee, Grover was recently discharged from the ICU to a long-term acute care facility where he’s expected to recover, according to hospital officials.
His wife, Diana, told hospital officials he’s currently too weak to play, but when he gets his strength back, he’ll pick up his violin and return to his passion for music.