Breathing - Speaking - Living: Guest Speaking At A Global Conference

Breathing - Speaking - Living - this is the tagline for Atos Medical, the world leader in Laryngectomy Care. Last month, I had the honor and privilege to be a guest on their live virtual event: One Voice, One World: Celebrating Survivorship.

I was nervous to speak to so many great people (more than 500) during this online conference.

I was a little intimidated since there were 500+ attendees, many of whom were people who have undergone total laryngectomy surgery. People with total laryngectomy have had their entire larynx removed. There were also a number of speech therapists, family members, caregivers, and other medical professionals viewing the virtual webinar.

So Many Amazing People

This man has no voice box, but he loves being a musician.

The host and all of the guests (other than me) were cancer survivors - not just people who have survived an unimaginable situation but are thriving - because of it. It is difficult to put into words what I experienced for that hour and a half. I watched cancer survivors openly sharing their stories, singing, playing instruments. Through the music they shared, I experienced a piece of their joy and inner strength. I felt close to them even though I was watching on a screen.

Have you ever experienced something so deeply that it brings you to tears, stirs something deep inside, and then when you try to share your experience with someone else, it just falls flat? That’s how I feel when I try to talk about my experience as a guest speaker and as a viewer of this powerful webinar.

Host, Bill Brummel (top left), shared his own experience of life after having his voice box removed.

The host, Bill Brummel, shared his experience of life after his total laryngectomy. He also interviewed several others who had undergone the surgery. Music was the unique element that they all shared in their conversations with him. Each guest talked about music as one of the key elements in his successful recovery. Then each one shared his own recorded performance, singing and/or playing an instrument. I cried listening to each and every performer. Their stories were incredibly moving.

Where Did I Fit In?

That was my question exactly! I felt ill-equipped to speak after the first few guests had shared their music and their stories. What did I know or have to contribute after hearing their devastating cancer stories? How could I speak in the same space as these cancer survivors? I was nervous, and that’s a gross understatement.

However, when I took a step back and thought about the driving force behind the webinar and the driving force behind each guest’s story, I realized that we had more in common than I first thought. We have all experienced the unspoken power of music. We have all experienced challenging circumstances, great and small. We have all needed something larger than ourselves to overcome these challenges. Music. Singing. Playing an instrument. Experiencing music together and connecting, without a single word spoken is essential to our humanity.

“Music Therapy is a clinical, evidence-based practice that effectively achieves patient goals set by the entire healthcare team.”

When they interviewed me about Music Therapy, I shared my passion for music and for working with people. Music Therapy is an easily misunderstood profession. It is a clinical, evidence-based practice that effectively achieves patient goals set by the entire healthcare team. I shared how music therapy addresses physical, emotional, and spiritual goals, filling in the gap when seeking to provide holistic care.

Healthcare Team

Every member of the healthcare team is essential - doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians, therapists, etc. When Music Therapy is deemed appropriate and added to the healthcare team [not as an additional service but as a necessary service], patient goals are met more effectively and more quickly.

These Are My People

For once, I felt like I was preaching to the choir - I was in a virtual “room” full of believers. It made my heart happy.

Bill Brummel has directed and produced a documentary: Can You Hear My Voice? It provides a view into the world of someone who has undergone laryngectomy surgery and shares the story of a group of laryngectomy patients who perform in a choir. It premiered in the UK, and I’m still expectantly waiting to hear when it will be available to us in the United States.

It was an honor to be included in this virtual event celebrating cancer survivors. Our healthcare system is far from perfect, but I am encouraged by companies like Atos Medical who care about the populations they serve. The professionals and patients who were part of this event helped me realize that we are all connected, no matter where we live. Our ability to make connections through music is what inspires me on a daily basis as a Music Therapist and simply as a human being.