ABSTRACT
The harpist is in today, I notice as I walk into the hospital main atrium. My feet slow to the melodic notes that float past the patients in wheelchairs waiting to be ushered up to Dialysis. I glance up to admire the many colourful patient window paintings that dot the 55 windows from the first to fifth floor. As I near the Art Gallery, I see a patient looking in the floor to ceiling windows at the art as he adjusts his IV pole. I catch his attention and say, ‘Come on in.’ In the gallery, a young couple is asking a volunteer about the artists currently exhibiting. Three visitors, outpatients or visiting family members of patients are relaxing, waiting, and lost in their thoughts. A little boy of five and his mom are mining through the art materials seeking a choice project to complete. As I take my seat at my desk, my colleague grins and says, ‘We received another letter.’ Knowing what she means. I read:
I would like to express my appreciation to you in relation to your musician . . . When I was doing an invasive procedure on a young man with Down’s syndrome and Al was in the unit playing his guitar and singing, I asked Al if he could stay for a few minutes at this patient’s bedside to serve as a diversion to the patient while I was performing the procedure. Al stayed and played for as long as I required him to, and made the procedure go extremely smoothly with no requirements for sedating medications. This form of therapy is extremely beneficial both for patients and families, and staff members alike.
