Annie McWilliams is a Registered Nurse with CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Every year, more than a million Arkansans are treated in this hospital, and they are happy to have such good doctors and friendly nurses taking care of them.
But something about nurse McWilliams is just extra special.
And it’s something that had her be recognized as a Service Hero in Hot Springs for displaying the value of compassion.
You see, the woman does not only do her best to care for her patients with the medical tools she has on hand, but she sometimes uses surprise tools that help her patients heal on the inside.
Music has been found to be very beneficial for hospitalized patients, and, although it has not been found to shorten their stay in the hospital, it has certainly been hinted that it eases their pain and stress.
More specifically, it has been found to reduce stress and anxiety levels, while it allegedly promotes relaxation and pain management.
Music therapy can be helpful in a number of medical procedures and fields like general medicine, surgery, intensive care, pediatrics, pulmonology, cardiology, oncology, and pain management.
Those healing powers of music decided to be put into effect by McWilliams when one of her patients returned to the hospital.
As the co-worker who nominated Annie for this award pointed out, the woman Annie’s unit was taking care of at the time had been hospitalized several times before.
The patient had had a “motor vehicle accident years ago that left her bedridden and in agony,” Annie’s co-worker said.
When the patient returned in late 2021, the medical staff of the hospital knew that it could be the last time she returned there.
“The patient ‘has the kindest heart I know, next to Annie. Anytime our team sees this patient being admitted, our hearts break all over again,'” they said.
So, this made Annie decide to prepare a surprise for the woman.
One day, she took her favorite musical instrument to work.
McWilliams is a classically trained musician, and she knew that playing music to one of her kindest patients could ease the woman’s pain and help her feel more at ease.
Indeed, the next day, she went into the woman’s room and asked her to close her eyes.
That’s when she took out her violin and started playing beautiful rhythms. The woman broke into tears when she heard the sweet melodies.
The patient was speechless.
She could not believe that Annie had done this for her.
It was truly special and the moment they shared was precious.
Once Annie was done playing the violin, she kneeled in front of her patient and they both cried, forehead-to-forehead.
The medical staff that was present at the time could not hold back their tears and they admitted that it was the best moment they’d ever experienced at work.
You can watch Annie play the violin for her patient in the video below.
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