The Power of Connection: Stories from Integrative Therapy

When the Music Plays, Grace Wakes Up

For Grace, music has a way of reaching her.

Grace has been receiving services from Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care since February 2023, including nursing care, supplies, and support from the Lightways Integrative Therapy team. For more than three years, a team has supported her care, focusing not only on her medical needs but also on the things that bring her comfort and joy.

One of those things is music.

Whenever her music therapist Julia visits, Grace responds. In fact, her daughters, Patti and Margie, say they can count on it every time.

“Every single time Julia comes, Mom wakes up and sings along,” they shared.

It doesn’t matter what time of day Julia arrives. As soon as Grace hears the music, she becomes engaged and joins in. She may not sing every word or every note, but that isn’t what matters. What matters is the response, the recognition, the participation, and the joy of being part of the moment.

For Grace, Julia’s visits have become a meaningful part of her care.

That connection is at the heart of Lightways’ Integrative Therapy program. Music therapy offers another way for our team to connect with patients, using music to encourage engagement, expression, and moments of comfort. For patients and families, these visits can become something they look forward to and remember.

Grace’s daughters are an important part of her care, too. Patti and Margie know their mom well and are always encouraging her to participate and try new things. Their involvement, along with the support of Julia and the rest of Grace’s care team, helps create a compassionate circle of care around her.

It is moments like these that demonstrate what makes an integrated hospice team so special. Every member brings a different skill and perspective, working together to care for the whole person, not just a diagnosis.

For Grace, sometimes that connection starts with a song.

Julia plays.
Grace wakes up.
And she sings along.

Finding Comfort, Connection and Rhythm

For Andrew Goldberg, hospice care is about more than managing a diagnosis. It is about comfort, communication and making meaningful moments possible for both him and his family.

Andrew has been receiving hospice services from Lightways since last year while living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS. As part of his care, Andrew has had the opportunity to work with Lightways’ Integrative Therapy team, whose goal is to support the whole person and complement the care provided by the broader hospice team.

For Andrew, one of the things he values most is the team’s focus on his comfort and relief.

He also appreciates the communication and coordination between the members of his care team. Knowing that everyone is working together helps provide Andrew and his family with confidence that his needs are being heard and addressed.

But there is another part of his care that has created a special connection for Andrew and his children: music.

Andrew recently participated in a project called “Heartbeat Rhythm,” creating a special recording that his kids especially enjoy.

It is a simple example of how Integrative Therapy can create opportunities for connection that extend beyond a single visit. Music can become something a family shares, a recording to listen to, a memory to hold onto, or simply a song that brings a little joy to an ordinary day.

At Lightways, Integrative Therapy is an important part of caring for the whole person. Whether through music, aroma, massage, or other supportive therapies, these services give patients additional ways to find comfort, express themselves, and connect with the people they love.

And sometimes, those connections create something that lasts beyond the visit.

For Andrew, it is a rhythm his children can listen to forever. A special piece of music they can call their own.