Music therapy with Spotify

When I was an inpatient at the Foothills Hospital’s Acute Intense Rehabilitation floor (Unit 58) from September 21, 2017 to April 5, 2018; one the therapies I was asked to join was Music 🎶 therapy. I didn’t do a group sessions, I was able to have private sessions in my room. Many times my mom joined me as it was the early afternoons after lunch. Through these sessions, the importance music can have in one’s recovery. Have the music match your mood be it somber, happy music with a great rhythm to sway to or inspirational (Christian music) to find encouragement. Just like the breathing yoga sessions I attended with recreational therapy, certain music provided me with a method of refocusing my pain (especially when my Foley catheter had to get change  - still quite painful to have done).


During my annual family conference meeting last year (2019), my brother suggested is there a way to bring music therapy to my routine again has it could help me staying positive as well as help with relieving stress and pain for me. Well, I was able to receive music therapy but not by a person but from Spotify via a Google Mini a friend gave me. What a great addition to my room! I can now listen to music to fall asleep too. Or play to help distract me from pain or give me comfort when I am down. 


Having Spotify has made some times with my HCAs come to change and transfer me, a time of laughter. One of my HCAs, Webster, brings laughter to my room regardless if music is playing. In the Spring, multiple days in a row he would ask Google to play, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra or “Green, Green Grace” or “Love will see you though” (his wedding song). This theme is dance - kept on asking Google to play “Savage Love”. It’s from the social media platform of TicTok. What makes you laugh 😂 is that Webster tries to get the other HCAs do the TikToc dance moves while taking care of me. Sometimes that is the perfect medicine to make you happier to face your day. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy 50th Birthday to me

On September 17, 2020 - I turn the big 5-0!! Imagine I will be a half century old - 5 decades. How it has been a learning journey as I look back. Thought I would be reflective as I move into a new decade. Seeing how I evolved into the person I am to, you can see your strengths and weaknesses to your personality. Also you can see how events you have in life can change the direction you would have been going down. Of course, these same events can “forever change your life”, and one needs to learn how to pick up those pieces to continue on with your life. Some people don’t like to look back and only forward. If you lost someone, you don’t feel comfortable talking about this person, maybe as it hurts too much to remember the pain of losing that someone. I am of the mind - looking back helps me see how far I have come or what I have overcome.  In November 2009, I hit a low, probably a form of depression. I didn’t realize at the time, I was heading into a pool of darkness and negativity, not
Read more

Meeting Dr. Chris White - Neuromuscular Physician

On September 22, 2018, my friend Marilyn and I had the opportunity of attending an education session at Mount Royal University hosted by the GBS/CIDP Organization. The topic was GBS and IVIG treatment (intravenous immunoglobulin). The last speaker was Dr. Chris White, a neuromuscular physician from Calgary’s South Health Campus Hospital. In his presentation he described how IVIG treatment works depending on the type of GBS variant you have. In the presentations earlier left me a bit disheartening as I keep hearing people’s questions asking, “ I have been taking IVIG treatments for the past 2 years.. ”. I thinking, “ Are you kidding me? I only got in the beginning, September 2016 and now it’s 2 years later. Has my recovery been slow because I haven’t received additional IVIG treatments while in hospital?” But Dr. Chris White’s presentation helped me turn my feelings around. There are various variants of GBS and how you use IVIG treatments depends on your variant. Okay, feeling better
Read more
 Received great news yesterday (Oct 13, 2021) - AADL (Alberta Aids to Daily Living) has officially approved my application in purchasing a powered wheelchair 🦼. They will be purchasing the wheelchair itself, the cost of the tilting mechanism (~$3500.00) plus granted me another $4000.00 towards the cost of the Vigo technology to run the wheelchair. Maximum Healthcare is the name of the vendor providing me with the wheelchair as well as other accessories to help with my daily living such as a lifting of the wheelchair seat so that I can speak to someone at eye level for a change. The total cost for me will be $8003.00 for upgrades and accessories. So just like buying a new car or a house even, that is what has gone into purchasing my powered wheelchair. There is the basic powered chair (~$20,000) + all the upgrades (~$12,000) Excited to see what doors will open, literally. The major accomplishment for me, is going through the door of the sunroom area. My manual chair’s width prevented m
Read more