By Kelly Carmody | Digital Content and Social Media Specialist
Lyla's Music Medicine
MyMusicRx Supervisor, Elke, scheduled a music session with a little girl named Lyla. She was excited to sing some of her favorite Disney songs—especially those from Moana—but as Elke approached her room, she was informed that Lyla would be moving to a different area of the hospital for a procedure. Instead of turning away, Elke saw this as an opportunity to provide Lyla with some much-needed music medicine.
Elke handed Lyla small egg shakers and maracas as they wheeled the hospital bed through the halls. Once situated, Elke began singing Lyla’s favorite songs in a soft and soothing tone.
Lyla became agitated and nervous as the procedure began. Occasionally she would wince in pain, cry out to her mother, or ask the nurse to stop. Elke continued to play at a steady pace, drawing Lyla’s gaze and attention back to the guitar and the music.
As the procedure continued, Lyla focused more and more on Elke’s music and began to softly sing along to Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go” and Beauty and the Beast’s “Tale As Old As Time.” It took the nurse 45 minutes to finish the procedure, but Lyla had music to soothe her the entire time.
While the original music lesson didn’t go as planned, it was obvious that Elke’s music and consistent support during the procedure served as a beneficial distraction from pain that helped reduce stress and made the experience more bearable for Lyla.
The Positive Impact
A few days later, Elke reconnected with Lyla and her family to provide another music session as originally promised. Lyla was active this time, singing all the words and playing with her maracas & drums. She proudly performed four to five songs with Elke in front of her parents before growing tired. Lyla’s positive experience shows how music is often vital when helping seriously ill children and teens cope in a hospital situation.
Lyla was also featured on our online music festival, Bedstock, where artists play in bed for sick kids stuck in theirs. She performed a song from her bed, and now her video has joined the “stage” next to artists like Ed Sheeran, Ringo Starr and The Breeders!
Watch Lyla singing her favorite song from Beauty and the Beast on Bedstock.com.
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