Music Therapy

Meeting with families and coordinating celebrations with them allows me to be witness to many special moments that the public does not always get to see. Recently I was able to be witness to another one of these moments, and I felt it only right to share.

The young family had their final days with their mother at the Chatham-Kent Hospice. They had received exceptional care, and were very appreciative of the nurses, staff and volunteers for the experience. Now this is pretty typical praise for any family I meet with who have had an experience at the hospice. But I did not expect what happened next.

The family had asked me to play two audio clips, which they had on a USB stick. Now, I knew that the hospice had a Music Therapy Program, led by Candace Rahn, but I was not aware of the full extent of the program.

The first clip was an interview, set to music, of the children talking to Candace about what they loved about their mother. The children’s words were expressed with the composer’s original accompaniment playing in the background. Let’s just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when this clip finished.

The second clip was an original piece of music, composed by Candace. She had taken the children’s interviews, and had used the children’s own words to write a song for their mother. The song was beautiful, and the thought and care that went into it was very evident. You can imagine how the family, having been given this precious gift, were absolutely blown away by the scale of this act of kindness.

Kudos to Candace and the team at the Chatham-Kent Hospice for making these beautiful memories for this young mother’s family. This is just one of the many stories of the acts of kindness and compassion I hear about taking place within the hospice’s walls.

Thank you to the team at Chatham-Kent Hospice. This is how palliative care should be!