Sunday, October 11, 2020

Sunday, October 11, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken on Halloween of 2003. That was Mattie's official year to start trick or treating, as the previous year, he was only six months old. Mattie wasn't into costumes. As he did not like being confined or have anything touching him that was itchy. So together we went to Target, and when I picked this pumpkin sweat suit out, I had Mattie touch it to determine his likelihood of wearing it. It was a successful purchase. But as you can see from this photo, Mattie was upset about going trick or treating using his stroller. Given that we would be going with his cousins, there would be no way Mattie could keep up without a stroller. I would say that the first trick or treating experience wasn't the best, but we did it, and Mattie got a feeling for the nature of the holiday. Which made future Halloweens easier. 

Quote of the day: Tonight's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 7,756,846
• number of people who died from the virus: 214,742

A family friend of ours sent me the article entitled, "Dr. J Mack Slaughter Focuses on Healing the Spirit." I attached the article below for you to read it for yourself. I am always intrigued when I hear a medical doctor talk about something OTHER than the medicine. In this particular case this emergency room physician started a non-profit called Music Meets Medicine. In other words, he clearly understands and values the psychosocial aspects of care and believes that meeting these needs impact medical treatment and outcome. 

So how did this doctor get that clued in? To some extent, I would say that it is most likely him as a person. But he does credit supporting his mom through breast cancer. While undergoing treatment, she had to put her hands and feet in iced cold water, to prevent her nails from turning black. To distract his mom, he turned to music and he saw how effective it was for her. 

What also caught my eye in this article is his use of the word psychosocial and his honestly about confronting physician burnout. I think burnout leads doctors to treat patients more like numbers in their vast data pool, rather than treating the whole patient. This doctor wants to heal the soul, and that clearly can't be done through the medicine. I celebrate physicians like Dr. J Mack, who are this aware, compassionate, and willing to think beyond the medical box to support patients and their families!

As for music, I know first hand that it works! It is very therapeutic for the patient and the family. In fact, the very  first night Mattie received chemotherapy, we met this dynamic duo.... Jerry and Nancy. They were musicians and volunteers at the hospital. They literally visited us every week. We loved them! That first night, we were so scared about Mattie getting chemo, but then Jerry and Nancy came in and we all started singing around their keyboard. It transformed the room and our mood! This photo was taken in April of 2009. By that point, Jerry and Nancy knew Mattie very well. So much so, that Jerry would email me the day before they were coming to the hospital. Jerry wanted to play name that tune with Mattie and wanted to make sure that Mattie knew all the songs he was planning on playing. That night, Mattie guessed all the songs correctly and they gave Mattie a gift. 

After Mattie died, Jerry and Nancy continued their friendship with us. To this day, we meet them for dinner. I will never forget their kindness, their compassion for what Mattie was facing, and I am impressed they understand how important it is to us to continued their friendship with us. As I consider them Mattie memory makers. 

Dr. J Mack Slaughter Focuses on Healing the Spirit

https://magazine.tcu.edu/spring-2019/j-mack-slaughter-music-meets-medicine/