I saw a miracle today...

that's the note I wrote to myself over my busy music days in March...trying to not forget the blog thoughts I had..but no worry here. A miracle.

My nephew is a brain injury survivor. In a moment of a car crash, lives changed and one ended...and Leland ended up in brain injury rehabs across our state. The Brown School, right out here on Dittmar, in the Bluebonnet unit just 5 minutes away was his home for several months back then. I've written about that time in other blogs, today I write about the music, and how it heals.

At Christmas, Laurie Freelove, a local musician, asked Byrd and Street to do a Christmas carol show for the kids at what was the Brown School, now Texas Neuro and I tagged along. Just driving down that driveway was more emotional than I realized it would be, so many days I made that drive, sometimes four or five times in one day, sometimes alone, sometimes with Matt..even Boomer came along sometime. He was a big dog with a big heart and he could take the big pets and love them.

The kids in the audience were young to old teens...some brain injury survivors, or other neurological diagnoses. And they love to sing! I'm not sure Tommy and Kathy expected to do Santa Claus is coming to town four times, but hey! it was a hit and it was a very enthusiastic sing along every single time.


It was a natural thing to ask Donna Frost to sing for those kids...she's as real as they come and those kids would love her...so one Friday afternoon we headed out there..driving down that drive, we spotted the kids in the bluebonnets across those rolling hills...getting spring time Texas photos. Soon, she was up in front of them in the little art and music room. Bless her for learning words to a George Strait song the night before! and I Love Rock and Roll! the enthusiasm was contagious, and loud! Drift Away, truly beautiful voices, I have a video of it, but for privacy reasons cannot post it.




And our miracle...a dad coming all the way from Alaska where he works, to visit his son..about 12-14 years old, I guess. Autistic, I assume. Very to himself, but trying. Dad, sitting next to him, keeping his hands in his lap, when you could feel how much he just wanted to hug that kid..but he knew the ropes. He sat and the kid sat...and they listened to Donna's songs. And a toe started tapping...she connected. and time passed and all of a sudden I looked over...and that boy's arm had come up around his dad's back...and didn't leave. He reached out. He held on. And when that dad shook my hand and thanked us for coming, he was close to tears as he told us it was the best visit he'd had with his son in quite some time. He reached out. He held on.

I saw a miracle today, I wrote that night. Reminded myself of all the miracles I had seen at that school and other rehabs as we tried to bring our Leland back to his old self, and learned how to love his new self just as much.

Music heals.