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Interning at a medical center in Manhattan has given me a unique opportunity to work with patients from a diverse range of cultures. Recently, I responded to an immediate referral in our hospital’s pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). The referral was for Ehab (pseudonym), a 15-year-old Egyptian boy with a history of seizures, developmental delay, autism and hyperactivity. When I entered the unit, I found Ehab running around his room, self-stimulating off of objects as his mother chased him. The mother appeared exasperated and the staff appeared taken aback by the sense of chaos, wondering how they were going to be able to do the necessary procedures.A peer intern and I began by matching Ehab’s intensity, energy and rhythm of movement on the djembes and with our voices. Ehab remained hyperactive during this intervention, so I initiated singing an Arabic lullaby, Yalla Tnam (http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=1086&c=66), to which Ehab responded by becoming stationary, yet remaining active. We encouraged Ehab’s mother to actively participate by playing an ocean drum while we played a gentle I-IV chord progression on guitar with a soft harmonica melody. Ehab became increasingly still and focused on the object in his hand, gradually beginning to visually track both music therapists. His mother became teary and disclosed feelings of struggle with her son’s hyperactivity, to which we provided listening support.When I returned to the unit to add our assessment to the medical chart, I saw Ehab flailing as the EMU technician was trying to prepare Ehab for monitoring his seizures, a procedure which is not painful, but involves the discomfort of foreign substances on one’s head and requires stillness from patients for about 45 minutes. I grabbed a guitar and harmonica and began playing similar music that had served to ground Ehab earlier in the day while his mother held Ehab on her lap. Ehab immediately engaged by watching me and becoming quiet to listen. The music and Ehab’s resulting sense of calm appeared to relax both the technician and Ehab’s mother, and Ehab gradually fell asleep for the duration of the procedure.Julie Lytle, WFMT Student Delegate for North America
