On April 28 of this year, eight months ago today, Carlos died in the Palliative Care Unit of the Center Fòrum, belonging to the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona. On October 26, 2022, he had been diagnosed with a grade IV glioma, the most aggressive brain tumor. He was 44 years old and had three children. The two oldest, Aitor and Paula, 19 and 17 years old, from a previous partner, and Derek, who will soon be twenty months old, with his current partner, Beatriz Sogorb. It was not easy for any of them.
“When he entered the Center Fòrum, Carlos was quite discouraged and angry with life. Tania, the nurse who treated him, asked him if he liked music – Carlos loved it – and explained to us the possibility of participating in the program. of Music Therapy,” explains Beatriz Sogorb.
The program to which Bea refers is an initiative of the Hospital del Mar which, with the support of the Mémora Foundation since 2011, offers music therapy sessions to people who are admitted to the Palliative Care Unit. “The objective of music therapy is to promote states of well-being, encourage the living of positive experiences during the hospitalization process, improve depressive and anxious symptoms, and facilitate emotional relief for both patients and their families,” explains Lita Aristizabal, music therapist, psychologist, singer and music teacher.
“When he entered the Center Fòrum, Carlos was quite discouraged and angry with life. Tania, the nurse who treated him, asked him if he liked music – Carlos loved it – and explained to us the possibility of participating in the program. of Music Therapy,” explains Beatriz Sogorb.
Lita was Carlos and Bea’s music therapist. “Carlos tried music therapy and we were able to verify – with electrodes on his head and chest connected to a machine – that, thanks to music, he went from having an altered heart and very rapid heartbeats to a situation of relaxation and well-being that It was incredible to see, in which his heart rate was much slower. In addition to relaxing him, music connected him with his emotions, helped him move to other areas and escape his illness a little,” says Beatriz.
In the different sessions, the music therapist – in collaboration with the medical team and the involvement of the family – carries out very individualized work with the sick person. She accompanies her in this final stage, helps her reconnect with her experiences and helps her channel her emotions through words and music to achieve states of relaxation and calm.
“Music and words help to externalize the internal world, to remember the past, to talk about what the sick person feels, about how they have lived their life. Looking back helps to find meaning in that stage of life’s end. Thanks to the therapeutic relationship that is being woven, patients and family members appear increasingly more connected and willing to actively participate in the sessions and in the midst of the melodies, many emotions arise, laughter, tears, silences…”, he explains. Lita Aristizabal, and adds: “As human beings we are very used to leaving aside everything that does not give us pleasure, such as sadness, fear, anger, and all of that is part of the life experience. With music therapy we invite the patient to explain pleasant experiences and those that are not so pleasant so that he can grieve and free himself from many things that he may have had repressed.
In the case of Carlos and Bea, it was kept in mind that they were a young couple with a baby, and an environment of support was generated that helped both the patient and the family. “That they can talk about what they feel, express emotions, look for memories, elaborate on the loss through the use of songs, write them… Being able to say how much they love each other, how important that person is, how they are going to remember them, everything.” that they have learned together… All this helps a lot in the process of working through grief, which is one of the most important psychological processes in care support.
palliative,” says the music therapist.
Beatriz, 34 years old and with two children, remembers the sessions as something very beautiful. “Lita would ask Carlos what song he would like to hear, and she would sing it or play it for him, and she would make me participate and tell me if I wanted to join in; and from time to time I sang with her,” he recalls. Music therapy helped Carlos a lot, and Lita’s visits were a source of joy. It helped Bea too. Thanks to music, she managed to unlock herself and put aside the shell that she had created to protect herself from it. “With the help of Lita, photographs and music, I managed to unblock myself emotionally and convey to Carlos what I wanted to express to him: that this was the end, and my gratitude for all those years, and that I loved him and loved him very much. “.
Lita remembers that Bea spent many hours in the hospital and was physically and mentally exhausted. “Her idea was to help her have a space of well-being and connect with her emotions. At first she was a little reticent, but finally the music made it easier for her to let what she felt flow.” The result was a song that she wrote herself based on the music of Ed Sheeran’s Photograph. She transformed the lyrics with the couple’s experiences that emerged from the photographs and memories. “I adapted it to our reality and I was able to sing it to Carlos. Now, at certain moments I like to play songs that I heard with Carlos and I sing them out loud in case he can hear me, and I dedicate them to him. It is a way of being closer to him, to have him present. Once I sing them and listen to them, I feel better and they give me strength to continue the day.”
The Music Therapy project promoted by the Mémora Foundation has led to a pioneering clinical trial in the world, which has demonstrated the positive emotional effect of music on terminal cancer patients, as well as a reduction in fatigue, anxiety and improvement in breathing. and levels of well-being. In fact, for Mémora this was the first participation in a project of this type but not the last because it has subsequently promoted music therapy in other hospitals in the country.
