Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): Zac and Carolyn's Story (video)

Summary: Therapeutic musician, Carolyn Brodginski, and transplant survivor, Zac Mirecki, demonstrate the soothing power of the mountain dulcimer during recovery.

Transplant: 2019

Healing Through Music and Connection  

(00:25) Carolyn Brodginski:  I'm a therapeutic musician. I play for those just entering this world, those leaving this world, and everything in between. I play for others in need of healing, family members, doctors, nurses, janitorial staff, security guards, but my focus is on the one most in need, the patient.

(00:45) I've seen some patients many times, and they've become my friends. I pray that they will be free from the disease, free from suffering one way or another.

“When I came across a patient who was inpatient for a long time, if they wanted to learn how to play, I came with the cardboard dulcimer and started to teach them.

(00:53) I started playing the dulcimer 12 years ago. I went to a dulcimer festival. It was a weekend when there were workshops and concerts. I took a workshop on music and healing and discovered this certification. It's called a certified music practitioner or a therapeutic musician. I got information on the program. A year later, I entered the program and I completed it.

(01:24) I had to complete an internship, and I worked at St. Francis Hospital. I was asked to go to the patients' rooms and play for them. I found that patients were very interested in the instrument, and not just patients, but people all over the hospital. I'd walk around, not with the instrument in the case. I had it strapped across me like a banner, and I couldn't walk down a hall without people asking me over and over and over what the instrument was. So I explained it many times.

(01:56) I would walk into patients' rooms and I'd ask if they wanted music. A lot of them would say no, and then I would just strum my three fingers across the strings and they'd say "Oh, that's so soothing." And then I'd play.

(02:10) When I came across a patient who was inpatient for a long time or came back regularly to the infusion center, once a week, once a month, if they wanted to learn how to play, then the next time I saw them, I came with the cardboard dulcimer. I started to teach them how to play, and the dulcimer is theirs.

(02:29) There was a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU). She was kicking everyone out of her room, yelling at everyone. And I said to the nurse, "Can I try?" And it took about 15 minutes.

(02:38)  "You Are My Sunshine" is magic. It's the best song on the planet. People in the emergency room who are really anxious, if you play "You Are My Sunshine", they start to breathe. It distracts them.

(02:53) I love to play with people and teach people who aren't musicians themselves. They're so proud of themselves and just so delighted that they've played music, and it's so easy.

A Diagnosis and a New Beginning: “Going from playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star to starting to play Amazing Grace was just a beautiful, beautiful journey.”

(03:12) Zac Mirecki: I'm Zac Mirecki: I was born and raised here in Connecticut my entire life. At 32, I was about two months into a new job in construction and was feeling extremely fatigued, which eventually led to a rather nasty whole-body rash. I drove myself to the emergency room at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, and it was quickly ascertained that I had a blood disorder of some sort. That was a Wednesday evening.

(03:43) I was admitted to the hospital, and on Thursday, had one of many bone marrow biopsies and spinal taps. Friday morning, the news came back that I had acute leukemia. My car sat in the parking lot for 35 days.

(04:01) I was admitted that entire time, and in the first week, or week and a half, I was introduced to the Integrative Medicine Department, dulcimer being one of many programs the hospital offered. Carolyn very graciously gifted me a cardboard dulcimer at our second lesson. I would say it was a true blessing it's such a beautiful, simple, soulful instrument.

(04:38) And going from playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to starting to play "Amazing Grace" at the end of my inpatient stay was just a beautiful, beautiful journey. It certainly piqued my curiosity. I was feeling pretty crummy at the time with a lot of GI upset from treatment and some other related symptoms. So definitely not the best week that I've ever had, but it did give me a real sense of purpose while I was staying inpatient. I could have something new to learn, explore, and truly enjoy, and get to share that with friends and family.

(05:29) I gave my first virtual concert while I was inpatient, and that was truly exciting. For the first virtual concert I gave on Zoom, I was in my hospital room. My parents were on the call, my sister, and my boyfriend, Michael, and they were crying. I mean at the end, and I was too. It was hard to stay together, but just such a beautiful moment of just bonding and sharing, knowing each of us handles bad news and a disease like AML extremely differently. I think music was one thing that really brought us together as a family, deepening the connection we didn't otherwise have.

(06:31) I think anybody can learn the instrument easily, and if you allow yourself that peace and that grace, it can make treatment and that rather monotonous inpatient experience a lot more enjoyable.

The Power of Soothing Sound:  “I have seen 30 minutes of soothing music produce the same, calming effect as 10 milligrams of Valium.”

(06:52) Carolyn Brodginski:  I don't know if I played it for you, but typically it was the first song I would play for a patient. It's called "Winter's Tuning". It was written by another dulcimer player who lives out in Washington state.

(07:06) I have seen 30 minutes of soothing music produce the same calming effect as 10 milligrams of Valium. I see it in their faces, eyes close, and facial muscles relax. I hear it in their voices. A deep sigh, words thanking me for helping to relieve their pain or the tedium of being in the hospital, at least for a little while. Sometimes, no words, just tears washing away feelings they haven't been able to get out. And they thank me for giving them a gift, and I thank them right back. I love my work.

(09:14) I just wanted to acknowledge the organization that I received my certification through: the Music for Healing and Transition Program. They're board-certified for therapeutic musicians. So, mhtp.org is the website, and a graduate of their program is a certified music practitioner, a CMP. It's really a wonderful organization. You learn so many wonderful things about music and healing. It's just been life-changing for me.