Featured Musician: Jamie
Jamie has been in our hospital for most of the past year, and during that time, she has accomplished so much! As she prepares to transition to a new home this month, we wanted to celebrate her writing, dance moves, sense of humor, and showcase some of what she has created. (Please note: any videos without masks were taken prior to COVID-19.)
Jamie wanted to include as much as possible on this post, and is excited to share it with her friends, family, staff, and all of our readers!
As Jamie grew stronger, she was able to ride a bike with her rehab team
This is Jamie’s Halloween song (original song structure written by Hap Palmer). She was excited to add some things she does not like into her potion, as well as some cupcakes for sweetness. You might recognize some things you dislike, too :)
Jamie’s photo shoot with our friends at Moment by Moment
(Photo taken pre-covid in 2018)
This is how Jamie wrote her color poem. She used her eye gaze device to choose a color and verbs from the wall. Then she looked at smaller pages in front of her to choose adjectives. We used the yes/no cards to double check and make sure we got Jamie’s words just right.
We play Guess Who using a similar system, with adjectives up on the wall. In our most recent game, Jamie beat me 4-0. It was not my finest day. Jamie was thrilled.
Early on in Jamie’s admission she needed a lot of support with sitting up and moving. We used music for positive stimulation, motivation, to increase her alertness and give her a beat to move to. Here is one of Jamie’s favorite songs, and you can see her starting to dance and sway.
This is my favorite video! It is hard for Jamie to coordinate mouth movements and to use her voice. Check out the change that happens when Jamie starts to hear MT Dan and I singing one of her favorite songs. You may not be able to hear her vocalizing on this video, but you can see her mouthing along all of the words. Music also helps keep her alert and awake, as sometimes when there’s not a lot going on around her, she starts to snooze. Off camera, her rehab team was helping stretch her legs and feet while she got to focus on the music.
My second favorite video: A perfect example of Jamie’s sense of humor—here she is playing a prank on her Physical Therapist with help from her Child Life Specialist and rehab team. A great opportunity for fun and to practice her gross and fine motor coordination.
Jamie got to meet one of her favorite celebrities, Laura Marano in this visit through Musicians on Call. You can see us asking Jamie’s question at 6:36 and our dance party at 11:50
Ross Lynch, if you’re reading this, Jamie would LOVE to meet you next!
Jamie’s signature attitude face. She also gives some excellent side eye when needed!
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