The Power of Music: An Alzheimer’s Patient Is “Quickened”!
2012 June 4
When my mind goes, will someone please load up CCR and kindly put the earphones on me?
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Sniffing out the work of God in the world…
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Will do, but won’t need to since you stay regularly plugged in, restoring yourself everyday! Love Henry in this story…”God made me a holy man with these sounds!” Whoo Hoo!
Mel
I work at an independent living and although we don’t have residents that are in these stages of disease, we do have residents with memory issues. I have shown this to our activities director and we are amazed that something so simple and so inexpensive can bring about this kind of change. I wish that I had seen this before my sweet mamaw died – I would haved loved to see her face as she listened to some of her favorite music!
Oh, and just load my ipod with Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special!
Fascinating. I know I’ve spoken to groups at senior homes where no one seemed to be tuned in. Then when singing started, they became fully alive and animated. “Blessed Assurance” and “Come Thou Fount” are buried deep in our souls.
Ok, go ahead and add The Allman Brothers, Zeppelin, The Eagles, Buffett, Neil Young, etc.
I loved this story, Mike. Henry is so endearing. Not long ago my infant grandson visited his great grandfather who struggles with Alzheimer’s. They both connected in an unexpectedly wonderful way and that’s when the music started: the great grandfather surprised the entire room as he began to sing to his great grandson. It was a beautiful moment and one of the stories about my grandson that I am treasuring in my heart.
This is why the instrument vs no-instrument debate bugs me. What does our singing DO AT ALL?! This man shows us that singing (like words – Brueggemann) creates realities. It creates worlds. It shapes people. Singing shapes and creates a People and defies the world around us. When we make not using instruments the point, we miss the point. Conversely, when we say that instruments will make our singing “better,” we miss the point. We are shaped by, driven by, motivated by, created by the songs we sing, instruments or not. Teach our kids that and the instrument debate will go away.
Keep them coming preacher Mike! I will be using this in the classroom this week. I know my students at the Community College will get a lot out of seeing this video. I have a lot of nursing majors who are required to take my Arts class and I know they sometimes wonder why? This will help me connect with them. Thanks!
My mother-in-law was in the last stage of alzheimer’s disease, barely alive and in a comatose state. Her pulse was very, very low and we all thought that she was… gone. I decided to bring my guitar to her and sing some of her favorite gospel songs that I knew she loved, songs such as “Power in the Blood” or “Precious Jesus, hold my hand”. As I sang to her my daughter began to point at her foot, her big toe was moving and keeping time with the music I was singing to her. Unforgettable!
This brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my daddy who died of Alzheimer’s. Although I did not observe him do this, attendants in his rest home told me he would sing along with the church singing they had at the facility. I can only imagine what something like an iPod might have done for his memory and livelihood his last days on earth. Henry’s story is so touching. Thank you for sharing it.