Featured Musician: Daniel

Written by Marissa Beaty, Music Therapy Intern

"I’ll miss all of you, thanks for help along the way. 

Time to say goodbye, all this feels like yesterday."

Congratulations to Daniel on his remarkable recovery! Daniel is a talented musician who loves singing and playing piano, especially if it’s a Billy Joel song! In April 2023, Daniel had a stroke that caused a complete loss of movement and speech, among other health complications. Over the next three months, he worked with the rehabilitation team at UCSF to regain his skills for a truly inspiring recovery.  

Music therapy supported Daniel’s work on his motor skills and speech skills. Singing was a motivating activity that helped him work on breathing and voicing words. For a while, Daniel could only play piano with one hand, so I would play the other hand’s part so we could play a full song. Before long, Daniel could play with both hands again and sing at the same time!  

Here’s a video from when he was first re-learning how to play piano:

And here’s a video from his final performance with us of a favorite Billy Joel song. You can see how much progress he’s made on the piano line he was working on in the first video!

To celebrate his discharge from the hospital, Daniel wrote parody lyrics to the song “Yesterday” by The Beatles. The lyrics humorously summarize his initial injury and the time he spent with rehabilitation therapists. They include inside jokes and positive memories of his time in the hospital. Please enjoy this recording of his performance!