Today in ICU when I was playing my guitar for a woman in ICU, by the third song her eyes filled with tears and streamed down her face. She was so full of tubes, she could not move to wipe them from her face. Nor could she speak. She had big brown eyes that looked over at me with such sorrow, I could hardly bear to meet her eyes. At one point, tears came to my eyes too but I kept playing. It is a good thing to let patients grieve. I would play a piece that had a sad feeling to it, then the next piece I would lift it up a bit. Then lift it more to try to help lift her spirits. What I try to do in situations like these is to give some hope. I never try to cheer someone up or make light of their situation. But I do work to help them see that there is always hope and there are many who care about them and they will be alright.
I have been doing this work now for 9 years and I am still so struck by what an honor it is. To bear witness to the human spirit and to feel I can do something to help bring some hope is something I never take for granted.
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