girl scouts of the colonial coast
Girl Scout Shelby has earned her Gold Award, the
highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouts.
Inspired by her younger brother, Brandon, who was diagnosed
with stage four kidney cancer at the age of nine in February 2017, Shelby
decided to help other kids who were at the hospital by using music. Her brother
was scared and the only thing that calmed him down during his hospital visits
was music. Her project, “Healing with Music,” came to life.
“Seeing how music took his mind into a whole different
world, made me fantasize about a world where everything seemed good even though
everything was not going their way,” she said. “I asked myself if it would be
possible to have a wa
y to get more patients to get their minds off of their
medical situation.”
“Healing with Music” brought music therapy to the pediatric
cancer unit at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her project provided
happiness to the young patients by taking their minds off of their medical
diagnosis at the time. To help the patients, Shelby brought various music
instruments to the hospital to start a form of music therapy. For each of the
instruments Shelby brought, she also created a theory book that taught the
patients how to play their instrument of choice.
Throughout her project, Shelby learned that everyone is
unique and that they react differently to music because of their age, medical
condition and personality. She learned how to communicate effectively, how to
be patient and problem solve. Shelby also discovered that her true passion is
helping others and working with children, a deciding factor in determining her
college major.
Beyond Shelby’s involvement, her project will be sustained
by the nurses, volunteers and parents at the hospital as Shelby left the music
tote filled with instruments and the rhythm booklets. Shelby hopes to bring her
work to other hospitals and bring music theory to other young patients.
