We have had a patient on our unit for about 10 days with unrelenting pain due to a chronic condition. She hadn’t been having much success with pharmacologic pain relief. Over the past week our night CANM, Ben, had gotten to know the patient and her daughter. He discovered that the duo loved music and even performed. The daughter had her acoustic guitar in the patient room. Since Ben had played guitar many years ago, he offered to strum a bit while the patient was receiving a pain relief massage from her daughter. The patient ended up falling asleep, seemingly able to rest comfortably for a few hours without medication.

On his next shift, Ben brought his guitar from home and played for the patient and her daughter multiple times. They even requested an encore before Ben went home that morning. With four nurses huddling around the door, Ben played one last Santana-esque riff for a patient he’d formed a genuine connection with.

Ben once shared with me that he was in an accident years ago which took away his passion for music. Only recently had Ben decided to pick up a guitar and start playing again. When he talks about music, his eyes light up. Ben has an undeniable God-given talent for playing guitar. Although, he’d say he isn’t that good.