Music Therapy

After arriving in the ER at 2:00pm on Sunday, we finally get to a room at 9pm. Seeing as Meghan had meningitis just 10 days ago, they put us in a room with "Precautions". This means that she might have something infectious so she is not allowed a roommate (Yeah) but she is also not allowed out of the room (Bummer). After lunch, some brave souls decided to venture into our room.....they are music therapists. I was skeptical as I assumed that they would come in, play songs for Meghan and leave. Boy was I wrong!
Laurie, the music therapist and her students spent about 30 minutes with us. They provided a variety of instruments so that Meghan could accompany them while they played the songs. Here Megs is playing the Glockenspiel. They encouraged her to use her left hand, or at least have the right hand support the left hand. It was great as she really tried hard to keep leftie in time with the music. Music is such a great motivator and it helped Meghan to push through fatigue to keep beat with the music.
Next she chose to play the drums while David played the guitar. They had a special drumstick that was weighted more at the end--especially for kids who were re-learning motor skills. Meghan was pretty successful with the left hand using this tool. How can there be such wonderful therapies out there that we don't know about? For Meghan's disabilities, music therapy is motivating and productive.
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When they realized that Meghan only uses one vocal tone, they began encouraging her to sing along with them, varying the pitch as they went. I feel that for Meghan, encouraging her to reach different pitches within music would be a powerful tool in helping her tone return. Meghan really enjoyed herself and we will be seeking out Laurie and her music therapists during Proton radiation.
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Finally, at 6:30pm, Meghan was taken into surgery (30 hours after being admitted to the ER.) To the surprise of everyone, she refused anesthesia and opted for a local only. She detests the grogginess and side effects of full anesthesia, and she convinced the doctors that she would lie completely still during the procedure. They told me that if Meghan showed any signs of anxiety for fear, they could put her out within seconds. I knew then that Meghan would be fine as she has not shown any fear or anxiety this far. Sure enough, she got to skip the recovery room and she came immediately to the room--asking for a burrito and grapes (she hadn't eaten in 24 hours).
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Dr Butler explained that because of steroids, Meghan's incision had developed scar tissue but the scar tissue had not adhered together, so the CSF could leak out. So he cut away the scar tissue and sewed up fresh tissue. Our new prayer request is that the new incision will heal together completely without infection or leakage!