Music was a lifeline for Jamal Davis, a former UF Health Shands Hospital patient. After a successful heart transplant, he never expected to meet the singer whose music he listened to nearly every night in his hospital bed.

Davis was diagnosed with an enlarged heart his senior year of high school. After eight years of declining health, he came to   UF Health Shands Hospital in need of a heart transplant. During four months of hospitalization, he formed a special bond with UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine musician Ricky Kendall.

Tori Kelly surprised former UF Health Shands Hospital patient, and AIM participant, Jamal Davis in the recording studio.

They spent hours talking, singing, recording and sharing their mutual love of music. When one of Davis and Kendall’s Tiny Bed Sessions (bedside concerts inspired by National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk concert series) was brought to the attention of singer-songwriter Tori Kelly, she traveled to Gainesville to meet him.

Watch a special edition of Tiny Bed Sessions to see Davis get the surprise of his life. Visit artsinmedicine.UFHealth.org and search “Tiny Bed Sessions” to see his collaboration with Kelly.