Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Today my little harp and I found ourselves at the nursing home bedside of a dying man. He was surrounded by his daughter, his son and his wife. He was in his 90's and no longer verbal. His eyes were closed and his breathing very slow but still regular. The family was a bit on edge and there was anxiety about my lighting. I just started playing in time with his breathing and soon the family began to calm too. I don't need too much light. There were still some moments of fussing over vacuum noise in the hall, the heat of the room, noise from the kitchen and so forth. But the mood did shift.

At one point I was alone with the patient and his wife and she asked me if I ever played at any churches as she wanted to find a good church with good music. I don't and had no good recommendations (something to learn!) but I offered to play hymns. That led to Kum Bey Yah and the daughter and the mother began to sing. They told me they sang on camping trips as kids when riding in the station wagon. They sang old familiars like Comin' Round the Mountain and Red River Valley. I was able to play those and they continued to sing to this man who gave them so much.

The son was exhausted from traveling and getting sick and he was falling sound asleep.

I played for about an hour and felt so moved by the obvious love they had for each other. They were incredibly polite and thanked me and hugged me. I gave the daughter a peace dove. She told me she sat next to someone on the airplane who was doing lots of origami. I am holding this family in my heart.