Susan Kenney went to Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, Virginia, when she had a stroke in 2022.
The nurses and hospital staff jump-started her recovery, but when she got home, Kenney was lost. For months, she sat around her house. She couldn’t drive, go anywhere or do anything.
Then, she remembered a flyer she received upon being discharged from the hospital. It had details for the hospital’s stroke survivor group.
The first day Kenney was able to arrange for a ride to attend the session, she did.
The group morphed into what’s become known as the hospital’s Brain Choir. Since 2015, it has offered a sense of community for stroke survivors, people with progressive neurological disorders or diseases and acquired or traumatic brain injuries. Many of the participants have already received physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Music therapy helps their progress advance.
“To have that community is a huge, positive impact on our healing journey,” Kenney said. “It’s just meant the world to me for the last three years.”
On Wednesday afternoon, a group of 20 gathered in the hospital’s south entrance atrium. In between Katy Perry’s “Roar” and Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild,” the group sang an original song thanking the doctors and nurses who treated them.
“It’s got some roots in your body, but then it has roots in your heart and brain,” said John Blackwell, a choir member who has Parkinson’s disease. “It’s really a wonderful thing for everybody that participates.”
Monika Stolze, program manager at Inova Loudoun’s outpatient rehab, said philanthropic donors fully fund the program. Every Wednesday, the group uses the conference room to host the sessions. Singing experience isn’t a requirement.
“It’s really about being able to find your words, express yourself, connect with other people who have gone through similar experiences,” Stolze said.
A speech language pathologist and certified music therapist participate in the weekly sessions too. After a brain injury, Stolze said, many people could be isolated, unable to walk, drive or communicate.
“I feel like I’m not terminally unique when I am around other people who have had similar experiences to myself,” said Toni Popkin, a long COVID survivor who has had three traumatic brain injuries.
“I feel like when I’m with other people that are not OK, even though on the outside we might look OK, then I can be myself. I don’t have to pretend.”
The group features young adults and retirees — and many in between. The variety introduces participants to music they may not have known about.
While singing is often the mission, they also go through breathing exercises and talk about their moods. Sometimes, Kenney said, the sessions help when someone’s feeling down.
“This has been so incredibly powerful for me,” Kenney said. “Music therapy, we need to spread the word about it.”
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