This family embraced social distancing to wish their favorite grandma a happy 95th birthday

As the Coronavirus epidemic spreads across the world, citizens everywhere are being encouraged to stay at home and self-isolate. This is especially important in order to protect those who are most at risk, namely those with compromised immune systems and the elderly. While most of us are happy to do our part in order to mitigate this public health crisis, it does mean that we lose out on special moments that we would have otherwise been able to enjoy together. But you know what they say, when life - or federal health agencies - give you lemons, you make lemonade. This family, in particular, decided to embrace social distancing in order to wish their favorite grandma, who just turned 95 years old, a happy birthday.

Grandma Kathleen Byrne had plans to see her family and friends later this week to celebrate her 95th birthday. On Saturday, they were supposed to visit her to cut a birthday cake and sing "happy birthday." However, because of the Coronavirus epidemic, it seemed that the Byrne family would have to change their plans. Therefore, while Grandma Kathleen expected to celebrate her birthday alone at home, her family was not about the leave the poor woman to her own devices. They gathered on Wednesday to wish her happy birthday - all from a safe distance. This way, she got to celebrate her special with her favorite people (even if they had to be a little further away than usual).

Uploading a video of the special birthday wish on Instagram, Sara Byrne wrote, "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!" In the video, members of the Byrne family are seen holding up individual letters that together spell out "happy birthday." They are also holding balloons and other party decorations while also wearing party hats. They are lined up in grandma Kathleen's front yard and begin to sing happy birthday as she walks out of her front door. The overjoyed grandma shouts as she watches on, "Oh, I love it. Thank you. I'm sorry we aren't all together."

Grandma Kathleen has seven sons, 22 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren. Now that's a big family. Evidently, they all love her very much and wanted to let her know just how much she meant to all of them. In an interview with CNN, her granddaughter shared just how important her grandmother is to the Byrne family. "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," she said. "We wanted to show up for her to make her feel special on her big day no matter what." She added that her grandma was "doing great" during the Coronavirus epidemic. She stated, "She was so happy to see us all. It was the best seeing her smile."

The Coronavirus epidemic has presented a public health crisis unlike any other in the modern globalized world. So far, more than 218,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus. Almost every country across the world is currently grappling with the deadly illness and all the problems that come with it. In a desperate bid to slow down the spread of the global pandemic, federal governments have urged citizens to stay indoors and self-isolate. This is expected to "flatten the curve" and save especially those at risk, such as grandma Kathleen. If you are yet to place yourself under quarantine, rethink your decision and do your part for your own community.

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