IN CELEBRATION
The little boy in the hospital clinic was very agitated
and hyper. For awhile he shook his rhythm shakers
and danced to our songs. Then he lost interest and
went to the other end of the waiting area to play.
But when his mother told him it was time to go, he
came running over to Paul Hill and me and gave each
of us a big hug and thank you before they left...
We never know just how the children will respond -
but the songs, the messages within them, and our
caring enough to be there - these things do
make an impact for good in their lives. And we've
been making that impact now for nearly 25 years. In
October of this year, we will complete our 25th year
as a nonprofit organization, and for nearly all of that
time we've served hospitalized children and families.
Let's look back and remember a few more stories -
* On one of Jim Newton's day visits to the
hospital, as he was singing in the Pediatric ICU, he
met a beautiful little girl who was visiting her baby
brother. Jim sang a soothing lullaby for her brother
and a song for the little girl as well. Then he moved
on to sing with other children and families. Later in
the afternoon, Jim went to sing for children gathered
in the hospital school classroom. The little girl was
there and, when Jim entered the room with his
guitar, she was heard to say to one of the
teachers, "That's the man who sang for my little
brother this morning - he made my tears go
away."
* A bit over a year ago on one of our tours
of the
upper Midwest, I met an extraordinary little boy who
was being treated at the Mayo Clinic’s Litta Children’s
Hospital in Rochester, MN. He was unable to leave
his room and so the Child Life Specialist and I
stopped by to offer a song. He didn’t seem too keen
on the idea but his Mom asked us to give it a try. I
began to play and sing “I Can Be the Best I Can Be”
and got no more than a few beats into it when he
yelled, “No”! I stopped immediately - the
Mom
looked embarrassed - the little boy just looked at me
and grinned, and after a brief pause, he
yelled, “Yes”! So, I sang a few more beats of
the
song. Again he yelled, “No”! And so it
went - with
this precious little boy, who had been unable to
control anything in this big, scary hospital -
yelling “No” and “Yes” over and over. It must’ve
taken 5 or 6 minutes to do the usually 3 minute
song - and when I finished, the Mom immediately
began to apologize. I quickly assured her that I
didn’t mind at all, and that his control and mastery
over the song and my singing & playing was just
what the doctor ordered. She thanked me over and
over and the little boy smiled as I moved to the next
room.
* The Email Of A Young Patient -
I was hospitalized for four months and you helped
make that four months livable - even when I couldn’t
come out of my room, you came in my room and sang
to me. I loved that. You made my world not soooo
gloomy - my mother enjoyed it too - guess I just
wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done
for children in hospitals. I think I speak for everyone
when I say I love YOU like a big brother!!!!
* Little girl to nurse in a
Hematology/Oncology Clinic,
as Jim was putting up this guitar to move to the
next sing-along - "He came to sing for me when I
was in the Intensive Care Unit.” “Really?”, said
the
nurse. “Yeah, I almost died twice - but I really
liked
his songs!”
* From the Mother of a young leukemia
patient -
Thank you for your music. At first, we played
your tape on the way home after each chemotherapy
session. Now I hear my son singing snatches of
songs while he plays, especially ‘doctor, doctor, I
know you want to help but sometimes it hurts.’ Your
music has helped him to cope with the changes in his
life that leukemia has brought. Thank you for sharing
your gift with children.
* From a Mother & Father - I know I will
not be able
to fully express our thanks for letting us use your
Peaceable Kingdom for Shane’s services. But I knew
when I heard it at the hospital that it was something
I liked. I had hoped and prayed that we wouldn’t
have to ask you if we could use it. We also would
like to have your permission to use a few of the
words to put on Shane’s gravestone. It would help
express some of our feelings about our precious son.
Thank you ever so much.
* From a Mom - I want to thank you so
much for
the CD you sent to my little girl. She loved it. I will
never forget the day you sang “If I Had A Truck” to
her in her room at the hospital. She had a blast. I
did too. Thank you for that wonderful memory.
Unfortunately, my Sweet Angel passed away
recently. Her service was beautifully filled with all
the songs she loved so much - “Life Is Aloha”, “If I
Could”, “Good Night”, “It’s Alright”, and the most
perfect song of all, “Peaceable Kingdom”. Thank you
for making such beautiful music and thank you for
the memories.
And thank you, our Hugworks donors and
supporters, for helping us reach so many
thousands of children and families over the years!
Let's continue to work together as we begin the next
25!!
In Celebration,
Jim Newton - President & Founder
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