Music Therapy for Pediatric Hospital Patients
Donation protected
On August 21, 2018 our son, Elliott, was born. He was perfect and beautiful and solidly built at 10 lbs. His older brother, Elijah, was as excited as we were to finally meet his baby brother. Our life was everything we could’ve wanted or hoped for. Three and a half weeks later, on September 14, 2018, our happy life tragically ended as Elliott unexplainably began having health issues that lead to a frantic 911 call.
Elliott spent the next ten days in our local hospital in the pediatric intensive care unit before being transferred to Boston Children's Hospital. Elliott's injuries were unclear but extensive and every hour was spent trying to make it from minute to minute. Elliott fought so hard and despite challenge after challenge he kept fighting. He was so obviously sick without any clue as to why. He was a challenging patient as everything, we learned, is such a fragile balance.
In the seven weeks that Elliott lived after his arrests, we were able to hold him only twice. Those were our most precious minutes with him and when he was the most relaxed. In the extraordinary time in between being able to hold him, we were occasionally able to connect with Elliott and provide healthy positive touch when the music therapists visited. Elliott had so little gentle, positive touch from his medical providers as they continuously drew blood, reset his IVs, pushed on his body, manipulated his position, and performed surgery, that having a music therapist join him for even a short time brought significant relief. To be a parent and hear your newborn scream and be unable to soothe him in any appreciable manner added another layer of pain for him and heartbreak for us. And in these minutes with the music therapist Elliott was reprieved of his pain.
There was only so much medicine could do for Elliott. Music helped him and us in those other times. Music offered him, and us, some comfort and peace when we couldn’t do that through holding him. He loved it. When the music therapists played, we witnessed him be alert to his surroundings and relax. He was caressed and soothed through music in a way that didn’t happen with any other medical intervention. It offered a break from the constant sound of machines beeping, painful touch and sterility of his hospital room. It also relaxed Juan and I as we saw how Elliott enjoyed it and knowing that music therapy wouldn't cause him any added pain.
Sadly, resources to support music therapy are sorely lacking. Currently these services are only available one day a week for four hours and only to children on the children’s hospital floor at our local Level 1 Trauma Hospital. These were services that Elliott was ineligible for due to being on a different floor and the lack of funding. These are services that all children and their families would benefit from. The benefits of music are well documented on pediatric hospital patients and known to improve outcomes and the well-being of both patients and families. Many hospitals are incorporating music therapy into their patients' treatment due to these benefits. We are raising money for our local hospital to have music therapy available to all pediatric patients and for more than just four hours a week.
Please help us in raising money for Elliott’s nonprofit, Your Song, which will raise money to provide music therapy to ALL children and their families at the University of Vermont Medical Center, so they might also have some positive touch and connection with their babies during the most painful and devastating time of their lives. Any donation will help make an impact. All funds that are raised through this campaign will be transferred to the non profit we created to help bring awareness to this issue. Then nonprofit is called Your Song, inc. once we have reached our endowment goal, I will work with the uvm mc to transfer this money into an account earmarked specifically for pediatric music therapy in the hospitals account. I am already in communication with the music therapy director and will continue to work with her to improve access to this intervention. Funds will be spent as discussed with the music therapy department and what their needs are, but which are believed to include more therapists and longer hours. Other expenses associated with supporting this cause may be included as well. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us. We are still fighting for you Elliott and will never stop. This campaign is run by emily sanders garcia and I am from Burlington, vt. We are connected to the recipients of these funds as fellow community members and as parents who have experienced medical care at uvm mc that didn’t include music therapy.
Elliott spent the next ten days in our local hospital in the pediatric intensive care unit before being transferred to Boston Children's Hospital. Elliott's injuries were unclear but extensive and every hour was spent trying to make it from minute to minute. Elliott fought so hard and despite challenge after challenge he kept fighting. He was so obviously sick without any clue as to why. He was a challenging patient as everything, we learned, is such a fragile balance.
In the seven weeks that Elliott lived after his arrests, we were able to hold him only twice. Those were our most precious minutes with him and when he was the most relaxed. In the extraordinary time in between being able to hold him, we were occasionally able to connect with Elliott and provide healthy positive touch when the music therapists visited. Elliott had so little gentle, positive touch from his medical providers as they continuously drew blood, reset his IVs, pushed on his body, manipulated his position, and performed surgery, that having a music therapist join him for even a short time brought significant relief. To be a parent and hear your newborn scream and be unable to soothe him in any appreciable manner added another layer of pain for him and heartbreak for us. And in these minutes with the music therapist Elliott was reprieved of his pain.
There was only so much medicine could do for Elliott. Music helped him and us in those other times. Music offered him, and us, some comfort and peace when we couldn’t do that through holding him. He loved it. When the music therapists played, we witnessed him be alert to his surroundings and relax. He was caressed and soothed through music in a way that didn’t happen with any other medical intervention. It offered a break from the constant sound of machines beeping, painful touch and sterility of his hospital room. It also relaxed Juan and I as we saw how Elliott enjoyed it and knowing that music therapy wouldn't cause him any added pain.
Sadly, resources to support music therapy are sorely lacking. Currently these services are only available one day a week for four hours and only to children on the children’s hospital floor at our local Level 1 Trauma Hospital. These were services that Elliott was ineligible for due to being on a different floor and the lack of funding. These are services that all children and their families would benefit from. The benefits of music are well documented on pediatric hospital patients and known to improve outcomes and the well-being of both patients and families. Many hospitals are incorporating music therapy into their patients' treatment due to these benefits. We are raising money for our local hospital to have music therapy available to all pediatric patients and for more than just four hours a week.
Please help us in raising money for Elliott’s nonprofit, Your Song, which will raise money to provide music therapy to ALL children and their families at the University of Vermont Medical Center, so they might also have some positive touch and connection with their babies during the most painful and devastating time of their lives. Any donation will help make an impact. All funds that are raised through this campaign will be transferred to the non profit we created to help bring awareness to this issue. Then nonprofit is called Your Song, inc. once we have reached our endowment goal, I will work with the uvm mc to transfer this money into an account earmarked specifically for pediatric music therapy in the hospitals account. I am already in communication with the music therapy director and will continue to work with her to improve access to this intervention. Funds will be spent as discussed with the music therapy department and what their needs are, but which are believed to include more therapists and longer hours. Other expenses associated with supporting this cause may be included as well. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us. We are still fighting for you Elliott and will never stop. This campaign is run by emily sanders garcia and I am from Burlington, vt. We are connected to the recipients of these funds as fellow community members and as parents who have experienced medical care at uvm mc that didn’t include music therapy.
Organizer and beneficiary
Emily Sanders
Organizer
Burlington, VT
Juan Garcia Urbina
Beneficiary