Wife serenades husband with mariachi trio as he battles COVID-19 in California hospital

FULLERTON, Calif. -- A wife serenaded her husband with a mariachi trio as he continues to battle against COVID-19 at a hospital in Orange County in southern California.

Patty Trejo stood by her husband's side Monday in the ICU at St. Jude Medical Center, the two listening to the music on an iPad as the trio played the couple's song, "La Mano De Dios," from the hospital parking lot.

Her husband, Joseph, was put on a ventilator after COVID-19 also led to pneumonia.

"People say that they can't hear you but I know he can. I know he can because I started to pray even harder and then he opened his eyes again, so I know he heard me and I know he heard the music," she said.

The ICU's clinical director, Karen Bartolone, agreed.

"I could see once they started playing, his heart rate did go up a little bit and he had a little bit of movement, started coughing a little bit, and to me that's reaction that he heard," Bartolone said.

Trejo says she was only doing what she knew her husband would've done for Valentine's Day in a COVID-free world.

Over the last month, the Trejo family has been without the 53-year-old they describe as their everything: a father who loves his children, wife and music.

"They're always dancing and singing and they like to go places on their own," said Chris Trejo, the patient's son.

Since January, COVID-19 has devastated the Trejo family.

Their two sons contracted the virus but have since recovered. Trejo beat it twice, but she lost her father to it at the beginning of February, on the same day her husband was put on a ventilator.

Armed with her faith and prayers, Trejo hopes her touch, kisses and the melody of two soulmates will help bring back her love. June marks the couple's 35th wedding anniversary.

Video courtesy: St. Jude Medical Center | Photos courtesy: Patty Trejo.