Power of Music

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My Momma still wasn't speaking. She had only uttered small noises and there was no speech at all. The speech therapist had hit a wall. She called in the music. Apparently music triggers a more meaningful part of the brain than our speech. This I was skeptical of but it makes so much sense!

Coincidentally the music therapist had spent a lot of time in Hawaii and she knew a few Hawaiian songs. The three of us sat in a room together and my mom looked very tired. They asked me what songs she would know. We tried a few and she was mouthing the words and really trying to sing. She was a fabulous singer in her time. Used to fill the house (at church).

My mom was born and raised in Hawaii. So one of the first ones that I thought would be fun to sing, especially since it was ingrained in our childhood school songs, was the Hawaiian state anthem: "Hawai'i Pono'i". We started in and she knew the words even better than me! It was an effort for her but I could see she was almost singing. Then we tried it again. This time I could hear her voice cracking and coming in. She was so happy and shocking herself.

This was after 3 weeks of not hearing her own voice she was beginning to hear it. Here I was with my mother singing a childhood song of the place that we both truly loved most after my traveling the world for almost 6 months. Our hearts were connected.

After that the therapist held my mothers cold hand (her hands are always cold) and asked her if she wanted to say anything to me.

She looked at me with those pale blue eyes and uttered,

I.....

;;;Love

....You

,..,.Joshua

I wanted to scream and cry at the same time. These, her very first words after the stroke were so shocking to her that she started laughing as did both therapists. We had busted down the wall. With the power of music.

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Photos

Hawaiian Flag
The 808 State Colors Flying Proud

Comments

[Teria]

Power of music
=') ='( Beautiful entry!