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Every Day is Precious: Nurse's husband played love on Marcy's piano
By ROB PAYNE
For Williamson A.M.
Marcy has told me that she likes to sleep because in her dreams she can walk, run, eat pizza, and play piano (but not at the same time).
Marcy played piano as a child. If you asked her, she would say she didn't play. But she is always drawn to piano music, especially classical piano music. Before her health problems started, I bought Marcy a baby grand piano as a Mother's Day present. Her childhood lessons came back to her quickly and she could play fairly simple classical music pretty well.
She played often but never for anyone outside our family. I think playing classical music calmed her spirit. She had such a ''go, now, do'' personality she didn't show it, but she was always pretty tightly wound. When she played piano it was like her tightly wound spring slowly released its tension as the classical music came out through her fingers.
My favorite time to hear her play was at night as I tucked our daughter Darcy into bed. Darcy would say her prayers and go to sleep to the sound of Fur Elise and other songs that many children never hear today.
Michele, the nurse who has come to the house for the last several Thursdays, admired the piano on her way out one Thursday.
''Do you play?'' I asked.
''No, but my husband, Chuck, does sometimes,'' she replied.
We had met Chuck, but hadn't spent any time with him. Michele had introduced us so that we all would have faces for the names that we talked about. I once asked Marcy what she and Michele ''talk'' about while I'm gone and she said, ''You boys.''
I told Michele that Marcy loves piano music and would like to hear Chuck play. She said she would talk to him, but I didn't think anything would really come of it.
But Chuck came to play for Marcy last Thursday.
To say Chuck plays piano is like saying Tiger Woods plays golf. He (Chuck, not Tiger) has a graduate degree in music, has played classical piano since his teens and now composes music for films. Oh yeah, and he is very talented.
Just like in the movies when someone casually walks up to a piano, sits and with a touch instantly fills the scene with life, Chuck sat at our bench and filled our home with classical music. For me, it brought back memories of when Marcy used to play.
As a quadriplegic and in a hospital bed, it's even harder to see evidence of stress in Marcy today. But as Chuck played, I could see the stress oozing out of her body. Her eyes closed and she softly smiled. Her face was the same as Darcy's when I would tuck her in as Marcy was playing in the background.
If you have never heard God's love, this is what it sounds like.
If you know a family or person in need, talk with them, discover their dreams. Even if you can't make a dream come true, you may be able to add color and sound.
Every Day Is Precious is a column to remind us to treat everyone we see today as if it could be the last time we see them. It is written by Rob Payne, whose wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in August 2000. Now 40 years old, she has gone from winning 5 and 10K races to being quadriplegic and on a ventilator at home. For more ways to help others, to find more about Marcy or to receive e-mail updates on her condition, visit www.EveryDayIsPrecious.com. Readers may contribute to her care by sending donations to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN 37069.
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