Jemima's story

“It’s hard to express how much music therapy with Pete meant to our family during our daughter’s journey in intensive care. Born at 23 weeks weighing 1 lb 4 oz, Jemima couldn’t see or even be held for months after her birth.

Her lungs were very weak and every day she fought to stay alive, enduring many needles a day for blood gases and cannulas. When she was resisting her ventilation, she was put on sedatives to stop her moving. Her negative associations with handling meant that at one point she even developed an aversion to being touched. Without sight and touch, music therapy was the only way that she could access feelings of happiness and comfort.

There was a physiological impact of the music therapy that could be measured by looking at her monitors - lowering her heart rate and blood pressure and improving her oxygen saturations - but beyond that, music therapy gave her precious positive life experiences to encourage her to keep fighting.

For my husband and I, music therapy was the only time in the week when we could spend time with our daughter doing something just for our enjoyment and were protected from interruption for procedures or medical updates.

Pete saw our family through our experience in NICU, from the hardest days when our baby was losing her fight to our happy ending at discharge. His calming, positive disposition and compassion for our daughter helped lift us up when we needed it most. He is passionate about his work and really cared about her progress. While the doctors and nurses fought to keep Jemima alive, Pete was the only one who provided her with positive life experiences in the hospital, and his therapy sessions were the only bright spot in the darkest time of our lives.” 

Hannah and Craig, Parents to Jemima