A kind-hearted California doctor turned a nervous veteran’s pre-amputation jitters into pure harmony — pulling out his cello for a bedside concert just before the life-changing surgery.
The US Army veteran was preparing to have both legs amputated at a Loma Linda hospital in August when his doctor showed up with an unexpected instrument.
“This incredibly kind doctor @quinnstagram21 went out of his way to bring his cello into the hospital the day before my grandfather’s surgery and play just for him,” the Army veteran’s granddaughter posted on Instagram.
“It was just fantastic. It gave me more strength and more help when I went through the surgery,” the veteran Leon Allan Loyd told ABC 7.
“So I had this strong confidence, and strong faith that this was going to actually be okay, and that losing my legs, I could still participate in life,” he continued.
Loyd underwent the double-leg amputation in August because of a rare disease. The day before the operation, Dr. Paul Kalmansson at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans’ Hospital offered to play for him, hoping the music would help put his patient in the right frame of mind before the daunting procedure.
Kalmansson had studied music at Yale and the Cleveland Institute of Music before attending medical school at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, according to his Instagram bio.
The video was posted by his granddaughter and received wide attention.
Believing music inspires hope, the doctor selected the Prelude in G Major by legendary composer Johann Sebastian Bach for his bedside performance.
He said he wanted Loyd to know that he cares and that “I’m thinking about them, and I can do that better through music that I can through words.”
