Minnesota children’s hospital ‘Brave’ video goes viral

Two nurses at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital never imagined the music video they created to inspire their ill cancer patients would go viral.

It's only been three weeks since nurses Brittany Bloemke and Natalie Snyder posted their labour of love on YouTube, but it's already seen nearly a million views and has close to 600 hundred comments. The pair spent weeks putting it together during their days off and before shifts.

In the video, nearly 70 staff member and 20 current or former patients sing and dance to "Brave" by American pop singer Sara Bareilles. The song has a decidedly joyful tone and encourages a strong character necessary to battle many terminal illnesses.

Also see: Hospital kids make their own version of Katy Perry's 'Roar'

"We know these kids, we know their stories, we know what they've been through," Bloemke tells local news station WFMY. "But for other people to see how amazing they are and to be affected in the same way just means so much to us and we hope it continues to inspire other kids."

The nurses maintain that the atmosphere at the hospital is upbeat and fun, and they aim to keep it that way.

"We don't want it to be a sad time in their lives because they have enough stuff to worry about," says Snyder.

Also see: Baby's emotional response to mom singing will warm your heart

In the video, one particular patient who is battling cancer for a second time, Sarah Ewald, can be seen removing her wig while dancing to reveal a partially-bald head.

"There aren't always bad times. You need to be able to laugh about it," says the second year university student.

This is the second hospital video in the past two weeks to make headlines for going viral.

Last week, patients and staff at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in New Hampshire sang their hearts out to Katy Perry's hit song "Roar" in a video that saw over 2 million views.