Jim Bennett should probably buy a lottery ticket, given his luck this year.

The Vancouver bass player beat a life-threatening illness and now his recent YouTube cover of Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' has gone viral.

"I basically have a second chance at life, and have been re-evaluating all the things that are really important — family, music, and just doing what you love," Bennett said in an interview with Rick Cluff on CBC Radio's The Early Edition.

On New Year's Day, the 30-year-old musician was hospitalized with a diagnosis of necrotizing pancreatitis. Doctors at Vancouver General Hospital told his friends and family he had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

"I was just so lucky to have so many loved ones around, and such a great medical team with Dr. [Andrzej] Buczkowski, " Bennett said about the nine surgeries he underwent over the course of three months.

During that time at the hospital, his mother and his girlfriend Andrea Terpenkas brought him a guitar.

"It really kept me going, just practicing in the hospital bed," Bennett said. "Andrea and I both really think music is food for your soul, and it was really important to start feeding the soul, I guess."

While neither Bennett nor Terpenkas can explain why the video has gone viral, it just might be that luck is on his side.

The Early Edition is on the air every weekday from 5:30 to 8:37 a.m PT on CBC Radio One at 88.1 FM or 690 AM.