The Intern Chronicles: Silverware and Songs

Given the right context, the essence of something can change. Or sometimes, its essence may just appear to change. Sometimes, that can be enough.


I first experienced this transformation early last week as I was getting fully settled into my new surroundings. I noticed how all of my favorite things were in their proper place in the new apartment, but they didn't look much like my favorite things anymore. My favorite mug looks different on this counter. My reading lamp has been transformed by sitting on another end table. I even noticed details about the decorative engraving on my silverware for the very first time after it was in place in a different drawer.


This phenomenon was hanging around the back of my mind when I was asked to sing with a hospice patient for the first time. I had a wonderful morning shadowing one of our nurses and when we visited our last patient for the day, the nurse mentioned what I was interning for and the patient requested that I sing.


I used what I knew from the patient's background and the decoration of her home to quickly assess what her preferred music might be. I asked if she enjoyed hymns and offered her a choice between two to respect her autonomy. She chose "In the Garden." I had not been expecting to provide any music that afternoon and so I did not have my guitar. I leaned in to the side of the hospital bed and began softly singing to this dear lady.


A stillness descended over the room as she visibly relaxed back into her pillow and reached for my hand. She held my hand and softly mouthed the words to the chorus each time. Her breathing grew deeper and more even and when I had finished singing, the room was silent and peaceful. The nurse and I left her resting comfortably with a gentle smile on her face.


As she had softly tried to sing with me, the patient was transformed. When she entered into a supportive musical context, the hospital bed, the oxygen tubes, and the shallow breathing all seemed to melt away. Instead, in the context of music making, this patient could express her basic humanity and her wholeness.


It would seem that the first lesson I learned in my new context is: You are not sick while you are in the music. Within that humanizing context, you become whole again, even if only for a song.