By Samantha Thompson | Donor Relations Specialist
Emma loves music and playing the ukulele, but her interest grew even stronger once she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), when the MyMusicRx program entered her life.
CCA’s MyMusicRx Specialists visited Emma regularly to sing and play music with her, and even recorded a music video for “Bedstock,” a unique online music festival that helps raise funding and awareness for the program. But even on days when Emma didn’t feel well enough to sing, she said MyMusicRx was just what she needed to lift her spirits.
“When I felt my worst, I still loved someone coming in and playing a song. It lifted me up when I was not doing so well.”
Emma’s mom agreed, saying that MyMusicRx gave Emma a much-needed distraction from her illness. “It’s just a great diversion, because it got her mind on something she’d be doing every day: listening to music and making music, and so it normalizes being in the hospital.”
As Emma continues to recover, she is reveling in simple pleasures like fresh air, good friends, and singing. She’s been taking online classes so she can graduate with her class and has big plans for life after high school. “I want to go to college and have a job and a family and go where life takes me,” she says. “Most of all, I want to be happy.”
CCA continues to deliver MyMusicRx to thousands of seriously ill kids like Matt across the U.S. and Canada, serving 5,300 children in the past year. Trained MyMusicRx Specialists engage kids in bedside sing-a-longs, offer instrument lending for self-expression, and provide access to CCA’s digital music medicine program, MyMusicRx.org. Scientifically proven to help pediatric patients manage pain, boost immunity, and decrease emotional stress, CCA uses music medicine to heal.
With your generous donation, we can grow this program and spread the healing joy of music to more children, teens, and families.
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