Friday, February 18, 2011

Friday: Bombs Away

It's Friday, and we're for sure scheduled for Cisplatin Extreme today. He'll feel great for three days, then crash. I'll write daily, though.

Yesterday was completely uneventful, as the Methotrexate and the VinBlastOff do nothing to cause him discomfort. They took only a short while to put in, and he graded essay exams the entire time.

BUT A HAPPY SURPRISE IN THE CHEMO ROOM

One huge blessing from living in Scots-Irish territory as we do is the musical talent that floats in the genetics around here like blue in the ocean. It's everywhere.

And as Bill said, "Only in the Appalachians would this happen," we had the oddest and most wonderful surprise in the chemo room yesterday.

An Appalachian student, about 20 years old, has signed on to do "music therapy" for the patients there. This involves her walking around with a guitar, talking to each patient, and asking if they'd like a song, or if a group of them would like a song. She has a notebook with all the requested songs in it (words, chords), and she said every time she gets a request she doesn't already have have the music for, she makes sure to have it the next time.

So yesterday, as Bill graded papers, and I read Psalms to myself and then looked at pictures of birds in an Audubon book, in the background we heard this shockingly beautiful soft voice singing songs in different parts of the room, with chords strummed quietly in accompaniment.

Not only that, but, as I was saying about the genetic pool here and musicality: people getting chemo would add harmony parts spontaneously, and let me tell you: old, old hymns sung by a young, young girl, with all ages of voices chiming in together, in country-style four-part, now THERE'S a sound you remember for years to come.

"When We Meet on that Beautiful Shore" and "I'll Fly Away" and "Leanin' on the Everlasting Arms" (yes, CTK church friends, THAT hymn showed up yesterday!).

As that last song goes, "What a fellowship. What a joy divine."

I'd say. Chemo community singing songs of hope together?

Does it get much better than that?

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