by Steve Rees, Ret. RN, Harpist
BRAIN INJURY HEALING
WITH MUSIC
As we wind into our third year of coverage and commentary on the twists and turns of our health care crisis both here at home and abroad, I thought my readers might want to take a break and return to one of the topics I started this whole series with 3 years ago – The Healing Affects of Music.
My whole work has really been surrounded by learning to understand the incredible affects of music on the physiology of our bodies and I have so many anecdotal accounts as well as scientific studies that continue to show the remarkable ways in which music assists in healing our bodies. So, with that in mind, lets turn our focus to a couple of cases I would like to share.
Recently, I was presenting a harp concert in Florida and before we started, I got to talking with a woman with a fascinating story. As we talked, I recognized that her story would be beneficial for others to hear, and I asked her if it would be OK for me to share it with my readers. Not only did she give me permission to share, but she also gave me a copy of her book, “Sink or Swim?” by Jane Blakewell – published by AJoyIn Publishing, Inc. – P.O. Box 342, Three Rivers, MI 49093.
In a freak accident, diving into shallow water without her hands in front of her, she crashed her face into the bottom. Not realizing the extent of damage that had been done, she shrugged it off; only to be found a day later in a seizure state flailing about on the floor of the dressing room. Her injuries were so severe that she still does not remember anything that took place in the next few years. Only her friends and family relating events to her have helped her piece together the years that followed.
Her injuries were so serious that she was in and out of the hospital for several years with seizures, meningitis, and other complications. She remembers that there were times when her only contact with reality was in singing some of the songs she had performed in her theatre productions. Jane had been involved in musical presentations at her school and had been performing in a Gilbert and Sullivan musical of “Pirates of Penzance” just before the accident. She really believes to this day that music was what helped her get her language back and be able to cope with the long convalescent period that she found herself enduring.
It was amazing to talk with Jane and then read her book and realize what she had been through. It can truly be said that music and her determination to not sink but rather swim, brought about a modern-day miracle. I was privileged to be able to talk with her and read her amazing story.
There is another story that I want to share about the power of music, which I originally published in my blog on my website:
By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor –