MUSIC BEGINS WHERE WORDS LEAVE OFF
Inspired by a Cancer-Battling Flute Teacher
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When my flute instructor, Diane, was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in 2004, she refused to give up her love for playing and teaching music. She underwent 79 radiation treatments and 11 surgeries, including the removal of a lung. Although she attributed the fact that her heart was still beating to her “stubborn Irish” heritage, it was really her unique enthusiasm to live, which she derived in part from music. At one point after the removal of her lung, Diane put down her spirometer and picked up her flute again. It was an integral part of her recovery, and it gave her a hopeful goal to live for: to try each day to play her best and to help her music students do the same. During one flute lesson, we talked about the need for music therapy in our city of Sioux City, Iowa. Inspired by Diane’s incredible will to live and hopeful that I could perhaps use music to make a difference in the lives of other patients, I set to work creating a volunteer organization that would be able to reach more people than I could alone. This became Musicians for Healing. Diane passed away in 2019, fighting fiercely until the very end. She lives on in her students and during the volunteer performances of Musicians for Healing.
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Medical Relevance​
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As a pre-medical student, Musicians for Healing allowed me to observe the benefits of integrating care in order to treat a whole patient. Medical professionals have reported decreased stress and anxiety in both themselves and their patients, allowing caregivers to maintain their own emotional hygiene and provide better care. Through a holistic approach, we can treat more than just symptoms; by taking advantage of the relationship between the brain and the body, we can actually improve quality of life for the longer term. As interdisciplinary thinking remains vital in adapting to a rapidly changing healthcare landscape, I believe that what I have learned about the cross-functional approach to treating a whole patient, including a clinically relevant understanding of music therapy and the value of service to others through music, will help me become a better doctor some day. I am now in my second year of medical school.
The Bigger Picture
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This project is about inspiring others as Diane inspired her own students to realize that we are surrounded by suffering and struggling people to whom we owe our service. Those who are able to serve should do so. My positive, selfless flute teacher changed how I live my life. If I'm not making someone else's life better, then I'm wasting my time. In a nation where many health problems are linked to stress, music can help. With Musicians for Healing, we perform for people with confused minds, overwhelmed hearts, and weary souls. Whether they can become whole again depends, partly, on how well we employ our talents.
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-Natasha Hongsermeier-Graves
Medical student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
Founder (along with Diane) of Musicians for Healing