Wednesday, August 6, 2014... 9:44pm and the most beautiful evening for August!!!!
I wanted to post about my Patient, Mr. S and his experience with the IPOD Memory & Recall. I have concentrated on him for the last 2 weeks. Noting his condition when I first met him a few months ago. He was usually in bed. Did not communicate except for single words like yes, no, thank you. He was always polite and loved Therapeutic Harp. I gave him the IPOD 2 weeks ago.
The first time I gave it to him, it was loaded with Vintage Music like Big Band, Pop Hits from the 30's and 40's. He was unable to answer simple questions like "what kind of music do you like" or "what is your name". I sat in the room and watched him for about 40 minutes. At first there was little reaction. Then I noticed his foot was moving and he lifted it off the wheelchair and placed it on the floor. He started tapping to the music with his right foot. A while later he was crying, so I took off the IPOD and asked him the following questions:
"why are you crying"….I don't know
"do you like the music"…..yes it's beautiful
"does the music make you remember things"…..yes, I remember
"is that why you are crying, because you remember"…..yes that's why
"do you want more music or are you done for now"…..I want more music
So I put the IPOD back on his head and 4 hours later, he still had it on! He cried when I took it for the night, but I promised I would give it back the next day.
Mr. S has had the IPOD several times a week. Last week I learned he was a Scientist and Engineer for NASA and helped put a man on the Moon. Imagine that. His wife told me the Astronauts ate dinner at their home on a regular basis. Information like this from family is so valuable when trying to rekindle a memory. This information gives me a base to work with so I have been documenting his responses to very simple questions before the IPOD goes on, after 20 minutes of music and after 1 hr of music.
Last week he was able to answer in 1 or 2 words, when I would ask him about his job at NASA. He would grin and smile when he remembered things. I could see such progress as we went through the week, he was happier and listened more carefully and responded more quickly.
Monday, August 4, 2014 he was looking at some pictures on the table of Apollo and various Space Pictures. I put on the IPOD and after 20 minutes, took it off and asked him his name. He gave me BOTH names. I said we would write it, so I helped him hold a pen and told him I didn't know how to spell it so he spelled his first and last name….unbelievable. Then I asked him about his children, he name them off in no time!!!
After 1 hour I removed the IPOD and asked him about music:
"do you like music"…I love music
"does this music help you remember when you were young"….yes I remember being young
"do you like to dance"….yes XX (his wife) likes to dance
"do you remember your job at NASA"…..
he starts crying so I hugged him and asked why he was crying and he said some random thing and then said, "it was hard to get home, very scary" This took me a minute to click, but he was talking about the Moon Landing and how scared Control Center was about getting them home again.
This is totally amazing and we are not done yet!!! In a perfect world, there would be funding to pay me or someone else to document EVERY patient that is part of this Music & Memory Project. I feel like I am walking uphill backwards and sometimes very frustrated, but when I see this beautiful soul remembering WHO he was and enjoying memories of his childhood, marriage, children, job and friends, it keeps me motivated and committed.
I need MORE IPODS!! This is at 1 Facility, I work at 3 Facilities. I am so grateful for the generous donations of used IPODS and to the INdiegogo Campaign. I am $320 short of my goal. The $500 Goal is to purchase 10 new IPOD Shuffles. Your Gift of an IPOD is changing lives…giving back life!
Please think of your loved ones….make them a playlist….give them music everyday, and do the same for yourself!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Friday, August 1, 2014
Another Healing Modality
Friday!!! not only a day off but it's gonna rain :) That's ok…it's summertime
It seems my Therapeutic Harping has taken me to another crossroad. I think it's ok and in fact, important to keep branching out and making small changes where you feel the need. Doing my Bedside Therapeutic Harp in Assisted Living/Long-term Nursing Facilities, has opened my eyes to what most of us want to "overlook" and that is the housing of our Elders. My Therapeutic work has a great impact on patients. I focus on bedridden or hospice patients that don't leave their beds…or rooms. But there is another population within these facilities that are sort of the middle man. These patients can be ambulatory in a wheelchair or a walker and although, physically they are tended to, I realize their minds and their very identity are buried deep inside and sometimes lost forever.
For these very patients, I started a Memory and Recall Event using donated IPODS. Each IPOD is loaded with music from a particular Genre, Big Band, 50's Rock & Roll, Crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, Country, Gospel and the list goes on and on. The idea behind the IPOD project is to place the IPOD on the patient, preferably first thing in the morning when they are rested and their minds are the most clear. 2 hours of music, on a regular basis is shown to have the most remarkable effects on memory recall, socialization and behavioral improvements.
Educating Staff and Family members on the benefits is key to success and it's also a slow process. What is also key is to stress that the IPOD is NOT a replacement for human touch, visual stimulation, or a babysitting tool. I have a difficult time giving up control of such a project, but I also know I can not do it without the help of the Staff.
I have had the most amazing and generous support from my family, friends and through Social Media in securing donated IPODS. I started an on-line Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign and the very first people to donate money towards New IPOD Shuffles were from Whitney Paulk (friend of my Daughter Lindsey) and Kimberly Sabatano, a longtime family friend. My gratitude grew from there to other contributors and is still happening. The Campaign runs until September and my goal is to purchase 10 New IPODS at $40 each. Please if you've not joined this Campaign, please give what you can, this is such an important project. Here is the link :
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/music-memory-ipod-funding.
Each day I am amazed at the progress that patients are making and I am so happy that the families have a little piece of their loved one back, if only for a little while. There are so many Modalities of Healing that we don't tap into, the Western World of Medicine is very skeptical if the healing method doesn't require drugs, surgery or "traditional medicine" but the good news is, we now have the equipment and technology to SEE these results that Eastern Medicine has been practicing for Centuries.
I am not alone, I have the support, love and compassion from you and you and you that are reading this Blog and contributing to the used IPOD Donation or the Ingiegogo Fund Raising for New IPOD Shuffles. My deepest and heartfelt thank-you's.
There are stories to share everyday about the amazing impact the IPODS have on the Patients. Here are just a few from this past week….
July 25th:
Big challenge today with a very difficult patient….she too is a screamer and a thrower…last week she threw her food at me on my way by her…I have an IPOD made up just for her with Childrens Tunes and tons of Disney Songs…it could go either way, peaceful or I will be dodging the Headphones!!! (the IPODS are secured to the back of the Wheelchair so they can not be damaged) I am so hoping we get a peaceful response
update:
ok a bit more detail…OMG it was so wonderful and so fun! This Patient is mentally and physically handicapped and the Staff has grown to love her like one of their children. But as we all know, little children can be challenging and so she is known for throwing things, screaming for hours on end and throwing fits…REAL fits. When I entered the Unit the Staff all looked at me like, "seriously you are going to put that on?" One of the Nurses walked over, took it from me and looked at the patient and said…"look, music…we are going to sing" and she put on the headphones herself and started dancing around…so the patient is grinning from ear to ear. Then the Nurse places them on her head and it was BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLLLLLL ..she was quiet for a minute, Old McDonald Had a Farm was playing and when she recognized it she grinned and screamed with delight! We all were dancing and clapping around her and she was so happy it made me cry. Then she said, "bed, music in bed"…we cracked up because she wanted to get in bed with her Headset…she was content.
So simple, so easy…no Meds…just joyful music because so many people gave IPODS from their heart.
July 28:
I want to share another Music & Memory experience today…actually 2 of them. There is a Patient who doesn't communicate, other than yes/no/thank you. Today I put an IPOD on him…I took it off about 20 minutes later and asked him what he did for a living…he just looked at me and I said, did you work for NASA and he smiled and said yes I did. I said, "you used to hobnob with Astronauts and have them in your home for Dinner" and he said yes, they ate dinner with me. This Scientist/Engineer worked on our Space Program. He is a brilliant man and after a STIFF jolt of music, he was able to carry on a conversation with me…can you say AMAZING?????
Story 2…I was working in the Computer room, adjusting/charging IPODS and a woman came in with her mother. The Daughter asked me about the IPODS so I explained the Project and told her that when there were enough donated, her mother could get one from the Unit Desk or the Family could request one for depression, agitation or sundowning. She asked if her mother could try one and the mother said, "oh no, not now"…so the daughter put on the headphones and said, oh Mom, this is your favorite song"…she then plopped the headset on her mother and her mom sat there…listening, closed her eyes and the Daughter said to me…."how much will this cost?"…..I said, nothing, this is a gift from the most generous people in the world.
It seems my Therapeutic Harping has taken me to another crossroad. I think it's ok and in fact, important to keep branching out and making small changes where you feel the need. Doing my Bedside Therapeutic Harp in Assisted Living/Long-term Nursing Facilities, has opened my eyes to what most of us want to "overlook" and that is the housing of our Elders. My Therapeutic work has a great impact on patients. I focus on bedridden or hospice patients that don't leave their beds…or rooms. But there is another population within these facilities that are sort of the middle man. These patients can be ambulatory in a wheelchair or a walker and although, physically they are tended to, I realize their minds and their very identity are buried deep inside and sometimes lost forever.
For these very patients, I started a Memory and Recall Event using donated IPODS. Each IPOD is loaded with music from a particular Genre, Big Band, 50's Rock & Roll, Crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, Country, Gospel and the list goes on and on. The idea behind the IPOD project is to place the IPOD on the patient, preferably first thing in the morning when they are rested and their minds are the most clear. 2 hours of music, on a regular basis is shown to have the most remarkable effects on memory recall, socialization and behavioral improvements.
Educating Staff and Family members on the benefits is key to success and it's also a slow process. What is also key is to stress that the IPOD is NOT a replacement for human touch, visual stimulation, or a babysitting tool. I have a difficult time giving up control of such a project, but I also know I can not do it without the help of the Staff.
I have had the most amazing and generous support from my family, friends and through Social Media in securing donated IPODS. I started an on-line Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign and the very first people to donate money towards New IPOD Shuffles were from Whitney Paulk (friend of my Daughter Lindsey) and Kimberly Sabatano, a longtime family friend. My gratitude grew from there to other contributors and is still happening. The Campaign runs until September and my goal is to purchase 10 New IPODS at $40 each. Please if you've not joined this Campaign, please give what you can, this is such an important project. Here is the link :
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/music-memory-ipod-funding.
Each day I am amazed at the progress that patients are making and I am so happy that the families have a little piece of their loved one back, if only for a little while. There are so many Modalities of Healing that we don't tap into, the Western World of Medicine is very skeptical if the healing method doesn't require drugs, surgery or "traditional medicine" but the good news is, we now have the equipment and technology to SEE these results that Eastern Medicine has been practicing for Centuries.
I am not alone, I have the support, love and compassion from you and you and you that are reading this Blog and contributing to the used IPOD Donation or the Ingiegogo Fund Raising for New IPOD Shuffles. My deepest and heartfelt thank-you's.
There are stories to share everyday about the amazing impact the IPODS have on the Patients. Here are just a few from this past week….
July 25th:
Big challenge today with a very difficult patient….she too is a screamer and a thrower…last week she threw her food at me on my way by her…I have an IPOD made up just for her with Childrens Tunes and tons of Disney Songs…it could go either way, peaceful or I will be dodging the Headphones!!! (the IPODS are secured to the back of the Wheelchair so they can not be damaged) I am so hoping we get a peaceful response
update:
ok a bit more detail…OMG it was so wonderful and so fun! This Patient is mentally and physically handicapped and the Staff has grown to love her like one of their children. But as we all know, little children can be challenging and so she is known for throwing things, screaming for hours on end and throwing fits…REAL fits. When I entered the Unit the Staff all looked at me like, "seriously you are going to put that on?" One of the Nurses walked over, took it from me and looked at the patient and said…"look, music…we are going to sing" and she put on the headphones herself and started dancing around…so the patient is grinning from ear to ear. Then the Nurse places them on her head and it was BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLLLLLL ..she was quiet for a minute, Old McDonald Had a Farm was playing and when she recognized it she grinned and screamed with delight! We all were dancing and clapping around her and she was so happy it made me cry. Then she said, "bed, music in bed"…we cracked up because she wanted to get in bed with her Headset…she was content.
So simple, so easy…no Meds…just joyful music because so many people gave IPODS from their heart.
July 28:
I want to share another Music & Memory experience today…actually 2 of them. There is a Patient who doesn't communicate, other than yes/no/thank you. Today I put an IPOD on him…I took it off about 20 minutes later and asked him what he did for a living…he just looked at me and I said, did you work for NASA and he smiled and said yes I did. I said, "you used to hobnob with Astronauts and have them in your home for Dinner" and he said yes, they ate dinner with me. This Scientist/Engineer worked on our Space Program. He is a brilliant man and after a STIFF jolt of music, he was able to carry on a conversation with me…can you say AMAZING?????
Story 2…I was working in the Computer room, adjusting/charging IPODS and a woman came in with her mother. The Daughter asked me about the IPODS so I explained the Project and told her that when there were enough donated, her mother could get one from the Unit Desk or the Family could request one for depression, agitation or sundowning. She asked if her mother could try one and the mother said, "oh no, not now"…so the daughter put on the headphones and said, oh Mom, this is your favorite song"…she then plopped the headset on her mother and her mom sat there…listening, closed her eyes and the Daughter said to me…."how much will this cost?"…..I said, nothing, this is a gift from the most generous people in the world.
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