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Young girl with cancer finds ways to smile with the help of music

Roughly six months ago Julie Hess took her daughter Lydia to the doctor because of a fever. “Got some blood tests and a couple hours later the doctor call...
Roughly six months ago Julie Hess took her daughter Lydia to the doctor because of a fever. "Got some blood tests and a couple hours later the doctor called us at home and said that the blood work didn`t look right," said Julie. That's when they got the news that would change their lives. "We went in and the diagnosis is she had leukemia, and it`s like it didn`t make any sense," said Julie.
Lydia immediately started chemotherapy, which is brutal on the body and hard to explain to a three-year old.  "This will just hurt for a little bit, or whatever descriptions we can use that she understands and she takes a deep breath and she goes okay let`s do it," said Julie. Lydia spent almost all of May and June in the hospital. "Those days were rough and long and full of a lot of pain and sitting in a hospital bed. She didn`t get up and play much at all," said Julie.
However during that time there was a bright spot. Lydia was able to play music with Jan Stauffer, bringing a much needed smile to her face amidst the pain of chemotherapy. Stauffer is a music therapist at Hershey Medical Children's Hospital and has been jamming with Lydia since she got there. "As many children do she sort of went into herself. Didn't want anybody coming near didn't want to talk to anybody," said Stauffer. However it didn't take long for her to come out of her shell.
"She very quickly understood that when we would come in and all we did was stand beside the side of a bed, play the guitar, sing the songs and slowly began to include her stuffed animals and balloons. She started to realize that this was something safe and something fun," said Stauffer. Perhaps one of the reasons Lydia opened up is because Stauffer is a professional, she's been a music therapist for more than 20 years.
"We're not here to teach music or to make musicians out of the children. We'll put the instruments out just like you saw in Lydia's bed and they can pick and choose and explore and use it for self expression," said Stauffer. However, it's more than a creative escape. "The music can trigger changes in heart rate. In the rate of breathing, your respiratory rate, it can influence therefore your amount of oxygen that flows through the bloodstream," said Stauffer. Music isn't going to cure Lydia. Only chemo will do that. But it does distract her, which is important because Lydia's going to spend the next two years in the hospital getting treated.
The Four Diamonds Fund helps the Hess family with bills. If you would like to donate CLICK HERE.

 

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