by Jessica Ennis
photos by Tamara Reynolds

Patient Nicole Stanley plays the drums.

Julian Fouce loved music.

The teenage rock 'n' roll fanatic had aspirations of forming his own band with his friends. He almost always brought his guitar to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt while being treated for leukemia. When Julian passed away at age 16 in 2005, the music didn't stop.

His parents, Tom and Maria, established a fund in his name and Julian's extended family and friends gave generously. Meanwhile, leaders and board members at the Children's Hospital were discussing a way to bring music therapy to patients.

"Last year when the Children's Hospital surveyed the music industry, we found that just about all the responders felt like there is a natural link between music and healing. I personally have always believed that music heals ... and I am very excited to be part of bringing music therapy to our kids at the hospital," said Kix Brooks, of the country duo Brooks and Dunn who is a member of the Board of Directors at the Children's Hospital.

Maria, who also serves on the Board of Directors, learned of the opportunity and the family decided in 2006 to use their fund to start a music therapy program at Children's Hospital.

"This was the most appropriate thing we could do from Julian's standpoint," Maria said. "We heard about music therapy programs at other hospitals and thought Vanderbilt should have a program, especially since this is Music City."

Their dream became a reality earlier this year when Jenny Plume was hired as the first music therapist for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt Music Therapy Program, which is supported by the Julian T. Fouce Music Therapy Fund.

Jenny was a singer/songwriter for eight years in Nashville in the mid-1990s before she decided to return to school to earn a music therapy degree from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. After graduating, she moved to Toronto and worked as a music therapist at school for children with autism.

Jenny returned to Nashville after being hired to work through Child Life Services at Children's Hospital earlier

Patient Trinity Patterson tries out a guitar.

this year.

"Jenny is tremendously talented," said Janet Cross, director of Child Life Services at Children's Hospital. "The value of a music therapist is that music is a tremendous vehicle for kids to express themselves. Having an expert can only enhance the psychosocial care that we can provide children."

Objectives of the program are wide-ranging. Jenny envisions working with rehabilitation services to help patients reach their speech goals, help other patients with self-expression and verbalize their feelings through song lyrics, aid in relaxation and pain management, and even provide a sense of normalcy by purchasing iTunes and downloading a patient's favorite songs onto a CD.
"I'll make an individualized program depending on the kids I am working with," Jenny said. "You can't just assume what everybody needs. I let them have a choice. I want to help patients through the stages of coping and acceptance. You can often see a real transformation."

Sometimes she works with younger children using instruments such as the xylophone or the guitar.

Three-year old Nicole Stanley was a patient at Children's Hospital for three days in April. She had been sick for three months and had a low white blood cell count and chronic neutropenia. Hematologists at Children's Hospital were working to determine why Nicole has been sick.

During her stay, Jenny came to Nicole's room armed with a cart chock full of brightly colored kid-friendly instruments and her guitar.

Nicole's father Ben Stanley, asked her what songs Plume sang to her when she was in the hospital.

Nicole replied, while grinning ear-to-ear, "'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' 'Ring Around the Rosy' and 'The Helicopter Song.'"
Ben said the "The Helicopter Song" was a song Plume made up just for Nicole.

"When Jenny sang to her, it really boosted Nicole's spirits," Ben said. "She loved it so much, she just really enjoyed it. It made her so happy and seemed to taker her out of being in the hospital."

The older patients are often drawn to computerized music-making programs such as "Garage Band" on Plume's laptop. But sometimes, what is needed most by a patient is a calming song sung to them.

"I was paged to come into a room to help a child who wasn't cooperating with technicians in order for them to do a test that required her to be still and lay on her back," Jenny said. "It was amazing, even for me, to see her transformation from non-compliancy, to laying on her back playing instruments and blowing bubbles, to focusing on me while I sang and played guitar, to her falling asleep. It really showed how effective music therapy can be," Jenny said.

Fourteen-year-old Aaron Magruder of Chattanooga, sat on his hospital bed on the sixth-floor cardiology wing of Children's Hospital, hard at work on Jenny's laptop.

With the click of a mouse, a string of hip-hop beats began to play and Aaron smiled and slightly bopped his head to the music he just created.

"When she asked me if I wanted to make some music, I figured why not," Aaron said."I started listening to the sounds I could pick from and started making the beats. It's a fun thing to pass the time, and I think other kids would like it."

The Fouce family says they especially wanted the program to assist older patients like Aaron who are already going through the difficult teen years, compounded with an illness that will keep them in the hospital for a long stay.

"We're so excited to see the positive effect this program is already having on the kids and it's a perfect way to remember Julian," Tom Fouce said.

Hospitalized in mid-March after suffering from a stroke at school, Aaron recently had heart surgery to repair a valve defect. When he left the hospital, he had a soundtrack of his stay with a CD full of music he created.

Patient Jillian Pasley has a jam session with Jenny Plume.

Nine-year-old Jillian Pasley, a two-time leukemia survivor who was recently diagnosed with bone cancer, has also been creating CDs of her own rock music during her stays at Children's Hospital.

"I am going to make an album and write my own lyrics," Jillian said. "It lets you express your feelings."

Her mom, Jessica Pasley, said as soon as Jenny started working with Jillian, her daughter went from being very sedentary and not talking to sitting up in bed, smiling and interacting.

"When I came back in the room they had the music going and Jillian was excited about going home and writing lyrics to the music she made," Jessica said. "It was another great opportunity to involve her while she was here."

Jillian has been hospitalized many times in the past seven years. Her most recent hospitalization was the first time music therapy program was up and running.

"What I have learned and witnessed in these past few months is that music not only heals directly through its power to soothe, humor and uncover a person's creativity, but also heals indirectly by acting as a bridge leading to trust, comfort and emotional relationships," Jenny said. "It is a wonderful tool that helps me every bit as much as I hope it does the patients and families who I have been privileged to spend time with."

Music therapy program wish list
Instruments:
keyboard(s) small and larger
Guitars - parlor size, both acoustic and classical
electric
Small Vox rehearsal amp
Djembe(s)
Percussion instruments
Music pads
Boomwhackers
Woodwind instruments
Harmonicas
Shakers
Xylophone
Tubular bells
Electric drum pads
(See West Music Catalog)

Other:
Apple computer laptop + accessories
(microphone, plug-in instruments, etc.)
Karaoke machine with accompanying CDs
Cart to carry everything - Rubbermaid
Copies of the Artist's Way
Notebooks and pens for writing
iTunes gift cards
Children's books (Backyardigans, Princess)
with small CD player attached
Leap Frog drum (ABC)
Blank CDs
Portable CD players
Kids' music toys (infant and toddler)
Computer programs, music games, etc.

To make a donation, email Jenny.Plume@vanderbilt.edu.