I am a Certified Music Practitioner through the Music for Healing and Transition Program (MHTP.org). I play music at the bedside for people who are sick or dying. Today was a special day that I would like to share with you.

My day began with yoga, breathing and meditation in order to prepare myself for the work ahead. I made arrangements to see a hospice patient at home, my first time doing so and arrived at her home at 10:30 am. She was alert and friendly, had played piano a bit throughout her life and was eager to relax and listen to live music. She sat in a chair in the den with blankets covering her lap and leaned her head back to listen as I played my Double Bass for her. I played various melodic pieces, some of my own compositions and some light classical and a little popular, a wide variety and after each piece she clapped softly and made a comment or two. It is miraculous to me how a patient who is so close to leaving this earth can be so gracious and appreciative. I will visit her again soon.

At 12:30 I arrived at the Moffitt Cancer Center for a rehearsal for a video production highlighting Shibashi, a gentle form of Tai Chi that is practiced and taught to patients, families and staff by members of the Arts In Medicine department. I am providing original music as a background to the exercises. The woman with whom I rehearse has spent her life as a sister in various challenging environments around the world and now in her "retirement years" works at the Center with patients using visual arts and movement as a way to connect with cancer patients and their loved ones,

At around 2:00 pm we were rehearsing in the Main Lobby of the Moffitt Center, inviting patients and visitors to join in the Shibashi exercises when a former patient and his wife walked in the door. We were excited to see him up and walking and looking fine. He had special gifts for myself and another Music Practitioner, my mentor Cheryl, a letter he and his wife had written to the Director of the Moffitt Center and a CD for each of us. In his letter he told the story of how Music Practitioners and other Arts in Medicine staff had visited him regularly during his stay in the hospital and how "programs such as these helped both Cecelia and me relax prior to my surgery and gain a more soothing perspective and bathe in a calm spirituality that truly benefited my recovery".

Next, Cheryl Belanger (Coordinator of the Arts in Medicine Department at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute) and I went over the referrals that had come to the Arts in Medicine team requesting Music Practitioners to visit patients rooms and decided who each of us would see for the rest of the day. My first visit was with a woman who had wheeled herself down to a program I had collaborated in with other member of the team just a little over a week ago. Tonight she was experiencing severe pain in her legs and feet and was self medicating regularly. She remembered me and settled back to listen. I played very softly, simple melodies to soothe and comfort her. She lay back quietly for about twenty minutes. Her caregiver had been keeping track all day of the frequency of her self-medication. As I was leaving, perhaps 40 minutes later, this same woman told me that this patient had gone at least twice as long between bursts of pain medication than she had in the past 24 hours. While I was playing, her need for pain medication was cut in half. Wow. Before I left, this patient insisted on giving me the biggest hug I could imagine. What a blessing this work is. I receive ten times more than I give.

My next patient was a quiet man, pale, with deep circles under his eyes and speaking very softly. When I looked up as I played I saw a beautiful smile and bright interested eyes. I played two or three selections for him and he asked if I was a volunteer. Being an intern in the Music for Healing and Transition Program, I receive no payment, so I told him “Yes." "God will bless you" is what he told me. Thank you, I said. Be well. I will visit you again soon.

My last patient of the evening turned out to have had prostate surgery in the morning. He was looking and feeling very well, considering and was enthusiastic about hearing the Double Bass played live in his hospital room. His wife was with him and they were about as amiable couple as I have ever met. I played a couple of pieces, after which this patient commented on the fact that he had never seen a bass played in such a manner before and he was fascinated with the fingering and bowing. As I pulled out my next piece the doctor arrived. I made as if to move out of the doorway but the doctor insisted I continue to play, so I played a simple tune called "Today". It is a song of hope and joy and appreciation for life in the present moment. Anyway, it is a pretty melody on the bass. As I finished and was preparing to leave, the doctor said, "I could feel my blood pressure dropping 25 points while you were playing". We all laughed but the doctor asked me my name. I told him Lloyd Goldstein. He said, "I will remember that". It is amazing, the power of a simple song, and the way it bridges the distances between all kinds of people.

As I was leaving the wing for the evening and the weekend, two or three nurses thanked me and told me that my "tunes" were beautiful. I thought to myself, "It has been a good day’s work. How lucky I am to be able to share and connect with such great people". I am lucky and this is the life of a Music Practitioner.

Lloyd J. Goldstein 11/5/04