Thursday afternoon, September 26, 2013.....the warm fall day is starting to cool down to another one of those unbelievable evenings....I'll take it
I am so filled with Gratitude...for the simplest of things. I arrived at Infusion and the first Patient I introduced myself to was a beautiful soul that has been battling her Cancer for over 2 years. She has a personal blog of her journey and she told me, "when my journey ends, if I have helped one Nurse learn a procedure, or one Scientist to identify something groundbreaking in Cancer Research or one person to love, then my journey, regardless of how short my journey will be it has been worth it".
She went on to tell me she has heard me play Harp there before it it helps her forget she's sick. So I set up at her door and her Mom was with her. They started to joke around about her Mom singing along and when I left her she was sound asleep. When I came back 1 1/2 hrs later, she was still sleeping and her Mom was sleeping with her head on her daughters lap....precious.
My second recorded Internship was a nice man next door. I went in and handed him a Brochure explaining the Therapeutic Music Program and he thanked me, but I could tell he didn't want to be bothered. When you are sick, any kind of interaction takes too much energy. I turned around and told him I would play quietly and all he had to do was put his head back and forget about Infusion and think beautiful thoughts to go along with the music. He smiled and said, "ok I'll do that" and I left him 25 min later sleeping.
I was getting ready to move to the other side which is open Bays with curtains, so when I play there it's really for everyone. As I was gathering my stuff, one of the Nurses told me that a patient was coming in next Thursday for his last Infusion. He had asked about me last week, as I wasn't there. He told this Nurse, please if you see her tell her I will be looking for her in two weeks. Come Hell or High Water (my Mom's favorite saying) I will be there next week to congratulate him and perhaps give him a little farewell gift...something meaningful, to give him hope and strength as he continues his journey.
I moved to the other side of Infusion and got my usual "Yeah, she's here!" response...those Nurses on Thursdays are so fun! As I was setting up, I noticed the area was really hectic, loud and seemed agitated. So I played for about 30 minutes, really in the background of this environment that was anything but relaxed and peaceful. I actually started to get worried that the Music was not doing it's job or that my intention was not strong enough to make a difference. But just when I was doubtful, a patient across from me tried to get up and it took 2 Nurses to get her to her feet. She was more than sick, she was completely wasted. I was more determined than ever to make my intention stronger than the racket that was going on around me. After another 15 minutes...I had Peace, Relaxation, Distraction from Sickness and Pain and the talk was at a whisper and the Nurses were humming along.
Nothing changed to create this new environment except me. I became stronger, my music and the vibrations of the strings resonated more, but NOT louder....just with more direction. I am so happy to put my day into words. I will look back on these Postings and remember exactly how I felt on a given day. I am so grateful.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Finding my Way
Wednesday Afternoon, September 25, 2013, just another PERFECT day of warm sunshine and cool nights
It's been a couple weeks since I last did any writing. I had some wonderful news, I passed my Level 1 Exams without a hitch and received my Course Materials for Level 2 last weekend. Yipeee here I go again. After going over the information, I am confident I will finish up and become Certified on a timely basis. The reading so far has been just as interesting as the other requirements. I have not found anything that I've read boring or slow. Just the opposite, I can't get through these books fast enough. The Body Mind Research that is being done is just amazing, who knew?
I thought I knew what I was going to do for my Internship Hours and where I was going to volunteer but as life would have it, I was able to stay at Infusion and collect hours there as well as Assisted Living. I also learned that the time I spend playing my Harp for my Companion Angel at Assisted Living and also her roommate will also count as Internship Hours. My Shift as a Companion is 3 days a week and starts at 2pm....I will go in early and do some Internship Hours for other Residents before I start my shift. I think I can knock out my required hours fairly quickly.
Also I got a call from Assisted Living around the corner from me and I was offered a paid Session once a month...keep them coming, I'll take all the Sessions you can throw at me! So between the 2 Assisted Living monthly Sessions, 3 day a week Companion, Piano Teacher on Wednesday and Infusion every Thursday...I have left myself enough time to read, study and practice practice practice.
I am finding most of the Assisted Living Facilities see this as entertainment rather than therapeutic music, however there are the exceptions, which I ran into last week. They all love to have you Volunteer your time but are slow to see that money is well spent to provide this service for their residents. Education needs to start at the top where decisions on funding begin....then hopefully there is a trickle down effect? Like anyone else providing a Service, I need to get paid for what I do, but if I ever become wealthy, I'll do it for free!!! I am slowly finding my way in this ground breaking field.
It's been a couple weeks since I last did any writing. I had some wonderful news, I passed my Level 1 Exams without a hitch and received my Course Materials for Level 2 last weekend. Yipeee here I go again. After going over the information, I am confident I will finish up and become Certified on a timely basis. The reading so far has been just as interesting as the other requirements. I have not found anything that I've read boring or slow. Just the opposite, I can't get through these books fast enough. The Body Mind Research that is being done is just amazing, who knew?
I thought I knew what I was going to do for my Internship Hours and where I was going to volunteer but as life would have it, I was able to stay at Infusion and collect hours there as well as Assisted Living. I also learned that the time I spend playing my Harp for my Companion Angel at Assisted Living and also her roommate will also count as Internship Hours. My Shift as a Companion is 3 days a week and starts at 2pm....I will go in early and do some Internship Hours for other Residents before I start my shift. I think I can knock out my required hours fairly quickly.
Also I got a call from Assisted Living around the corner from me and I was offered a paid Session once a month...keep them coming, I'll take all the Sessions you can throw at me! So between the 2 Assisted Living monthly Sessions, 3 day a week Companion, Piano Teacher on Wednesday and Infusion every Thursday...I have left myself enough time to read, study and practice practice practice.
I am finding most of the Assisted Living Facilities see this as entertainment rather than therapeutic music, however there are the exceptions, which I ran into last week. They all love to have you Volunteer your time but are slow to see that money is well spent to provide this service for their residents. Education needs to start at the top where decisions on funding begin....then hopefully there is a trickle down effect? Like anyone else providing a Service, I need to get paid for what I do, but if I ever become wealthy, I'll do it for free!!! I am slowly finding my way in this ground breaking field.
Friday, September 13, 2013
NOT an Earth Angel
Friday the 13, 2013 YIKES!!!! It's a cooler morning after some major storms....the air is nice and clean
I thought I would write down an experience I had. I love what I do and so far, in every setting I have worked as a Therapeutic Musician I have been surrounded by Earth Angels. They are the Angels that watch over us here on Earth and, it's just my opinion, but they don't know they are Earth Angels. The amount of love and compassion that I see for those who are sick and dying is amazing. Besides loving and compassionate care, these Earth Angels have a special touch and special looks that radiate from them.
So, with that said I am going to move on to my Story. At a particular place that I play, on DAY 1, I recognized an employee when I entered the Facility. You know how that is, you both look at each other and think, "I know her" and "she knows me". But my next feeling came just as quickly..."she is NOT a nice person". To this day I still don't know her name....but I'm gonna find it out real soon!
So I smiled and spoke to the small gathering of employees with a friendly "Good Morning", to which I got a friendly response from everyone except this person. She looked at me and walked away. Ok, yes I am sensitive, but I sucked it up and went about my work. It's been months now, I still say Good Morning every time I see her, and still no response. I might add that after watching her in action at her job, I don't think she is an Earth Angel...perhaps just the opposite.
Up to this point, it has not been uncomfortable for me. We both have our jobs and we don't have to interact. But I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how I know her. It must be through our Kids or the Pool we took them to or something like that. We've been in this neighborhood since 1977...I have crossed paths with a lot of people over the years. I just don't have "enemies" I am not confrontational and I don't burn bridges. I can't, for the life of me, figure this one out.
So back to my story...I am playing my Harp in a crowded area, but all clinical areas are small and crowded. I am always diligent in making myself as small as possible. Totally out of the way so the activities can come and go around me with little effort. All of a sudden this NOT earth angel comes tearing towards me with a patient in a wheelchair and slams my Harp...catching my phone case that is at my side, in the wheels of the wheelchair. What happened next blew me away...instead of stopping immediately and as least acknowledging what was happening, she looked right at me, muttered something under her breath and continued to push past me...taking me off my stool because my phone case was in the wheels. So I jumped up and said...wait wait...my case is caught in the wheel...to which I got another glare and mutter. This was hateful, plain and simple.
So, no one, other than perhaps the old gentleman in the wheelchair, was even aware of this happening. She pushed past and kept going and I stood there dumbfounded. If there should be another incident, I will address her directly. If necessary I will go to her superior and mine. For now, I will continue to be as friendly and polite as I have always been to her...but with a more watchful eye...
I thought I would write down an experience I had. I love what I do and so far, in every setting I have worked as a Therapeutic Musician I have been surrounded by Earth Angels. They are the Angels that watch over us here on Earth and, it's just my opinion, but they don't know they are Earth Angels. The amount of love and compassion that I see for those who are sick and dying is amazing. Besides loving and compassionate care, these Earth Angels have a special touch and special looks that radiate from them.
So, with that said I am going to move on to my Story. At a particular place that I play, on DAY 1, I recognized an employee when I entered the Facility. You know how that is, you both look at each other and think, "I know her" and "she knows me". But my next feeling came just as quickly..."she is NOT a nice person". To this day I still don't know her name....but I'm gonna find it out real soon!
So I smiled and spoke to the small gathering of employees with a friendly "Good Morning", to which I got a friendly response from everyone except this person. She looked at me and walked away. Ok, yes I am sensitive, but I sucked it up and went about my work. It's been months now, I still say Good Morning every time I see her, and still no response. I might add that after watching her in action at her job, I don't think she is an Earth Angel...perhaps just the opposite.
Up to this point, it has not been uncomfortable for me. We both have our jobs and we don't have to interact. But I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how I know her. It must be through our Kids or the Pool we took them to or something like that. We've been in this neighborhood since 1977...I have crossed paths with a lot of people over the years. I just don't have "enemies" I am not confrontational and I don't burn bridges. I can't, for the life of me, figure this one out.
So back to my story...I am playing my Harp in a crowded area, but all clinical areas are small and crowded. I am always diligent in making myself as small as possible. Totally out of the way so the activities can come and go around me with little effort. All of a sudden this NOT earth angel comes tearing towards me with a patient in a wheelchair and slams my Harp...catching my phone case that is at my side, in the wheels of the wheelchair. What happened next blew me away...instead of stopping immediately and as least acknowledging what was happening, she looked right at me, muttered something under her breath and continued to push past me...taking me off my stool because my phone case was in the wheels. So I jumped up and said...wait wait...my case is caught in the wheel...to which I got another glare and mutter. This was hateful, plain and simple.
So, no one, other than perhaps the old gentleman in the wheelchair, was even aware of this happening. She pushed past and kept going and I stood there dumbfounded. If there should be another incident, I will address her directly. If necessary I will go to her superior and mine. For now, I will continue to be as friendly and polite as I have always been to her...but with a more watchful eye...
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Testing, 1 2
Wednesday morning, September 4, 2013 the most beautiful morning...cool...breezy and the bluest sky
Yesterday marked a huge milestone for me....I completed all the Level 1 Requirements and I am ready for my 2 exams. I received a copy of the email from my Mentor to the Director of the Harp for Healing Program and I am proud to say it was a "glowing" report. She was so helpful and kind with her reviews of my music and yet she kept her standards high and I appreciate that so much. She also mentioned she has never had a Student finish these requirements in 3 months...whoooohoooo! To this I owe my Husband Tad....he is most supportive and such a believer of Therapeutic Music. He has reaped the benefits of my evening practices while he does his work on his laptop. He reminds me of the Giant in Jack in the Beanstalk. If I wasn't playing while he was working he would holler..."Harpist! I want my music!"
I believe I will do fine on the exams and this opens the door for countable Internship hours. I will be shadowing my Supervisor next week at Arundel Medical Center during her Bedside Harping. Actual Bedside Harping to an individual Patient is the ONLY time that is credited to your Internship Requirements. I am sad that playing at Infusion will not count, but I am committed to that Unit of the Hospital so I will continue to volunteer once a week there.
Level 2 of the Program is also exciting. I have already started my first book...."Molecules of Emotion"...very interesting so far. I can honestly say, all the required reading in Level 1 was exciting and never boring! But what I'm most excited about in Level 2 is the Improv Skills I will develop. I am such a strict Note Reader, and was never taught nor did I attempt to become better at Improv. This is a very important tool for a Clinical Musician. To be able to flow into the unknown and still keep a pulse rhythm in your Music is a skill I am not familiar with .....YET! Still so much to learn but I am pumped!!!
Yesterday marked a huge milestone for me....I completed all the Level 1 Requirements and I am ready for my 2 exams. I received a copy of the email from my Mentor to the Director of the Harp for Healing Program and I am proud to say it was a "glowing" report. She was so helpful and kind with her reviews of my music and yet she kept her standards high and I appreciate that so much. She also mentioned she has never had a Student finish these requirements in 3 months...whoooohoooo! To this I owe my Husband Tad....he is most supportive and such a believer of Therapeutic Music. He has reaped the benefits of my evening practices while he does his work on his laptop. He reminds me of the Giant in Jack in the Beanstalk. If I wasn't playing while he was working he would holler..."Harpist! I want my music!"
I believe I will do fine on the exams and this opens the door for countable Internship hours. I will be shadowing my Supervisor next week at Arundel Medical Center during her Bedside Harping. Actual Bedside Harping to an individual Patient is the ONLY time that is credited to your Internship Requirements. I am sad that playing at Infusion will not count, but I am committed to that Unit of the Hospital so I will continue to volunteer once a week there.
Level 2 of the Program is also exciting. I have already started my first book...."Molecules of Emotion"...very interesting so far. I can honestly say, all the required reading in Level 1 was exciting and never boring! But what I'm most excited about in Level 2 is the Improv Skills I will develop. I am such a strict Note Reader, and was never taught nor did I attempt to become better at Improv. This is a very important tool for a Clinical Musician. To be able to flow into the unknown and still keep a pulse rhythm in your Music is a skill I am not familiar with .....YET! Still so much to learn but I am pumped!!!
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