Hand-in-Hand with Medicine

Wednesday afternoon, August 21, 2013...Summer is Back!!  90o and Muggy....

What a wonderful Session at Future Care.  When I first got there, my favorite Lady was in the Dayroom with other Residents, listening to the TV.  I've seen most of the Residents in that area that are mobile enough to be taken to the Dayroom.  One lady I love in particular, she has a Baby Doll that sits in front of her on the table.  She doesn't make many noises, but she smiles at this Doll, it's adorable.  I can understand this and I bet she was a wonderful Mom.

Favorite Lady was happy to have me there, big grin when I told her I was there to play the Harp. (she is Blind).  I haven't been there in 2 weeks so I was very worried when I went to the room to set up my Harp.  Her Roommate was in very bad condition the last time I saw her so I was relieved to see her name still on the door.  Much to my surprise, she was wide awake and alert, chatting away!  Oh, I was so happy to see this.  She was so thrilled I was there to play the Harp and she motioned for me to come closer so she could tell me, "another lady comes to play her harp but I don't like her music....I love your Music, but she is a nice lady"....hahahaha I cracked up!

After setting up and tuning, I had an Aid bring my fav lady into her room.  I totally changed up my Tunes.  I downloaded many new ones and added several Hymns.  The first Tune was "Holy, Holy, Holy"....by the second time through she had her head back, eyes closed and a beautiful smile on her face.  She is always so ridged that it's a thrill to see her body just relax and sink into the wheelchair.  I told her roommate that I would put her to sleep quickly and she said, "nope, not today, I love your Music"....30 minutes later she was still awake!  She never slept the entire 45 minutes.  An Aid came in and we were asked to leave for about 30 minutes and I hadn't played my fav lady's favorite song, "Somewhere over the Rainbow" so I suggested to her companion that we take her to the Dayroom.

Here's where it gets good....the same Residents still sitting there listening to the TV...so we turned it down and I set up my Harp.  You know the Lady that doesn't speak or make noises....YEP...she was trying to sing.  I almost cried, it was so adorable and the entire time she was looking at the Baby Doll.  There was a Gentleman in a wheelchair that was rocking back and forth to the point that we needed to move him before he ran into the Harp....he was loving the Music.

What I would do to be rich enough not to have to be paid for this Service.  I wish I could spend everyday moving from bed to bed, giving peace, relaxation and a renewed spirit to all those in need.  I have a very hard time understanding the lack of this basic need these Residents have.  In other Cultures, Music goes hand in hand with Medicine...how did Western Medicine move so far away from other Cultures????  I want to be part of the  Era of NEW Medicine, one that teaches every Doctor, Nurse, Caretaker, Therapist and even Home Companions about the value of Therapeutic Music.