I first had the pleasure of meeting David at a group singalong where I observed him sitting at the outskirts of the group. As we were saying our goodbyes, David gestured me to come closer, where he said, "the way you do your thing and interact with the audience, you sure know how to work a crowd" and proceeded to compliment my guitar playing. Thanking him for his kind words, I wondered aloud if he was speaking from the experience of a seasoned musician. David shifted his eyes downward, sighed, and replied, "That part of my life is in the past. I'm grateful for it but...now I think I'll move on." I extended an invitation for future music therapy sessions to which he agreed. For the first few sessions that followed, David seemed engaged when I played music for him yet when I asked if we could play music together he hesitated, avoided eye contact, followed by an adamant "No, thank you." I was curious as to why David was so firm about not playing music together so I began to research more about David's creative history and learned of his extensive artistic accomplishments. David is an award-winning author who has published over 5 books, some which according to “Discogs.com” were awarded the “Wordsworth McAndrew Award by the Guyana Folk Festival Committee” in 2003. He is also a poet, photographer, painter and storyteller but the largest collection of his creative works centered on music. When asked, David conveyed that he was a “humble singer-songwriter who played mostly in Vancouver”. With further investigation, I learned that he has toured across the UK and Canada, made 29 albums of original songs, and created short music videos on his own YouTube channel. He has also collaborated with other music artists, one being Gordon Lightfoot. And yet, this was not the David we saw at Little Mountain. Learning of David's accomplished and creative past, the collective determination of the music therapy, care staff and leisure team set about gently probing David about what "seizes" him and offered to walk alongside and aid him in this journey of rediscovery. The first time he played the guitar was magical. It was like seeing David reunite with an old friend. He was joyously engrossed in playing the notes, sliding his hands up and down the neck with ease.
The cognitive decline associated with dementia, multiple health issues and the side effects caused by pandemic restrictions has added to the ups of downs in his current journey of life but it has been a joy to see David reconnect with music. This reconnection has also led him, with encouragement, to discover other opportunities for meaningful social engagement. David has regained a sense of self-efficacy and has increased physical exercise in Walk-a-thons. He has developed relationships with other residents and staff and is taking part in choirs, enjoying friendship teas, and dancing with others at “Disco Fever” and birthday parties. More often than not these days, David will not hesitate when invited to join in with the singing and dancing activities. All it took was some determination to learn more about his life story and a little encouragement to re-ignite his passion.
~ Cameron Yip, Music Therapist, Little Mountain Place