The past few days I have been out an about visiting patients with MTs, interns, and CNAs. Tomorrow I will go out with another intern, Next week I will go out with a social worker, two more MTs and a RN. All in all, it is FANTASTIC. Not only am I learning a ton by watching them but I am really getting a feel for the population I will be serving. It has been shocking at times. There have been moments where I was glad that I was just there observing and moments where I wished I could jump in with a song I knew. There have been families I wanted to stay and get to know more.
One big lesson I want to highlight with two stories:
BUILD YOUR REPERTOIRE!
1. Monday I went out with a MT intern who is just about to wrap up her time with Seasons. July 1 will be her last day and I wish her all the best. She is a great MT. Monday we met downtown and visited a few patients. Then she got a phone call and we needed to head over to Rush to be with an actively dying patient and their family. The patient was Hispanic. "How's your Spanish?" She asked me, "Do you know any Spanish songs?" **GULP** The only song I could think of was a song about "La Llorona" or the Weeping Woman, a sad and kind of scary tale about a ghost searching for children (and possibly killing them). It's from a play I was in. It's probably not the best choice to sing to a person dying OR their family. I kept my thought to myself and instead watched her mind race as we drove to the hospital. A
After parking and walking and going up elevators and signing in and getting lost and walking/wandering some more we arrived at the patient's hospital room. She talked a bit with the family, talked with the patient (who was not responsive), and started playing. A few spiritual songs, a little instrumental here and there, and three songs in Spanish. How awesome was that!? Right there on the spot she pulled out a few songs and was singing beautiful Spanish.
2. Today I went out with my supervisor to see a bunch of people. Our first stop was at a facility where we saw three patients. Two of the patients who had diagnosis of ADRD were uninterested in having music therapy for the day either sleeping or wanted to be left alone, but the third (with a diagnosis of COPD) we found up, alert, and ready for music. After the first song, for some reason, the client mentioned that he had recently been to Iowa to hear a music program. Of course my supervisor asks, "What town was it?" After a while of thinking he finally managed to say "Iowa City". And thus began my first real interaction with a client.
"I went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City," I said.
"I was born in Iowa," He said.
"So are you a Hawkeye fan or a Cyclone fan?" I asked.
"Hawkeyes!" He answered breathlessly.
"Is there a Hawkeye fight song you could sing?" piped up my supervisor.
Oh dear I thought, "Yes...If I remember all the words." There had been a competition each semester to see who knew all the words. Last semester I even used the fight song in one of my practicum sessions. But I had only been a Hawkeye for 2 years and I have YET to go to a game...
But, I sung it. And in the middle of a quiet facility in a small suburb of Chicago about 4 hours away from Iowa City, two Hawkeyes bonded. It ended up being a great session for life review and reminiscence. When we were about finished with our visit it was such a blessing to hear this man who had played Iowa basketball, who had loved the ladies in high school, and who had served his country say, "It was some life. I could live that life over and over and over..."
I guess there are actually two lessons here:
1. Be prepared. Learn and remember songs. A variety of songs. You never know when you'll need them. Whether you need to know a song in a foreign language, country music, Frank Sinatra, the Red Hot Chile Peppers, or heavy metal (all of which I have seen since I've been here) - you can never be TOO prepared.
and...
2. Live a life that in old age you can look back and say, "That was some life."
One big lesson I want to highlight with two stories:
BUILD YOUR REPERTOIRE!
1. Monday I went out with a MT intern who is just about to wrap up her time with Seasons. July 1 will be her last day and I wish her all the best. She is a great MT. Monday we met downtown and visited a few patients. Then she got a phone call and we needed to head over to Rush to be with an actively dying patient and their family. The patient was Hispanic. "How's your Spanish?" She asked me, "Do you know any Spanish songs?" **GULP** The only song I could think of was a song about "La Llorona" or the Weeping Woman, a sad and kind of scary tale about a ghost searching for children (and possibly killing them). It's from a play I was in. It's probably not the best choice to sing to a person dying OR their family. I kept my thought to myself and instead watched her mind race as we drove to the hospital. A
After parking and walking and going up elevators and signing in and getting lost and walking/wandering some more we arrived at the patient's hospital room. She talked a bit with the family, talked with the patient (who was not responsive), and started playing. A few spiritual songs, a little instrumental here and there, and three songs in Spanish. How awesome was that!? Right there on the spot she pulled out a few songs and was singing beautiful Spanish.
2. Today I went out with my supervisor to see a bunch of people. Our first stop was at a facility where we saw three patients. Two of the patients who had diagnosis of ADRD were uninterested in having music therapy for the day either sleeping or wanted to be left alone, but the third (with a diagnosis of COPD) we found up, alert, and ready for music. After the first song, for some reason, the client mentioned that he had recently been to Iowa to hear a music program. Of course my supervisor asks, "What town was it?" After a while of thinking he finally managed to say "Iowa City". And thus began my first real interaction with a client.
"I went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City," I said.
"I was born in Iowa," He said.
"So are you a Hawkeye fan or a Cyclone fan?" I asked.
"Hawkeyes!" He answered breathlessly.
"Is there a Hawkeye fight song you could sing?" piped up my supervisor.
Oh dear I thought, "Yes...If I remember all the words." There had been a competition each semester to see who knew all the words. Last semester I even used the fight song in one of my practicum sessions. But I had only been a Hawkeye for 2 years and I have YET to go to a game...
But, I sung it. And in the middle of a quiet facility in a small suburb of Chicago about 4 hours away from Iowa City, two Hawkeyes bonded. It ended up being a great session for life review and reminiscence. When we were about finished with our visit it was such a blessing to hear this man who had played Iowa basketball, who had loved the ladies in high school, and who had served his country say, "It was some life. I could live that life over and over and over..."
I guess there are actually two lessons here:
1. Be prepared. Learn and remember songs. A variety of songs. You never know when you'll need them. Whether you need to know a song in a foreign language, country music, Frank Sinatra, the Red Hot Chile Peppers, or heavy metal (all of which I have seen since I've been here) - you can never be TOO prepared.
and...
2. Live a life that in old age you can look back and say, "That was some life."
I am certain that my rendition was not nearly as cute.
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