————About Global Health Songs

My last project is now complete. Three Rice students found my website while looking for health songs and contacted me about writing some songs for their Beyond Traditional Borders program, and “Global Health Songs, Songs for Life and Healthy Living” was born. They really enjoyed “Babies are Beautiful” and asked me to write some songs to go along with their reproductive health curriculum which encourages families to visit the local clinic where they can receive medical help and education. My hope is that “Global Health Songs” will be a vehicle to connect needy families with competent health care givers in their community.
The Song titles are:
1.“Won’t You Come to the Clinic”, a song with Latin beats encouraging families to come to the clinic where the doctor and nurse are there to help them.
2.“See Your Doctor Nurse and Friend”, a gentle Rap song encouraging families to visit the clinic where they can “see your doctor, nurse and friend, they can give you medicine.”
3. “Everyone is Healthy!”, is harmony filled acapella song that starts with fear of the health care providers and turns to reasons why “The Doctor helps your baby, the doctor helps your little child”. Josh enhances this tune with harmony and echos back in Spanish.
4. “Go to the Doctor”, with flutes and hand drums give this song a Native American feel which shares “go to the clinic, come to the clinic, everyone there is friendly and nice”. I think this one is my favorite.
5-8 are all the same songs sung acapella using simple rhythm instruments which provides examples to health care givers who may use the songs in remote villages with electricity unavailable.
Hope you enjoy and let your medical missionary friends hear.
God Bless, Ms Dawn, The Singing Nurse
You can hear 2 of the songs @ www.MySpace.com/MsDawnTheSingingNurse

Photo by Amelia/CAFOD 8/04

05/08/2009
Global Health Songs CD is complete.

Let me know if you are interested and I will get you the info about purchasing a copy for your health programs working in villages and small communities. Written to connect families and their health needs to competent health professionals. TheSingingNurse@gmail.com

04/18/2009
Rice student connection-Global Health Songs Underway!

I am very excited to be working on 4 songs for 3 Rice students, two of them pictured here. The songs will help to promote the health program the students are working on for Guatemala and Botswana. They are attending Rice University and involved in the program BeyondTraditionalBorders. I did some preproduction yesterday and like the way the songs are coming along. One of my music friends Josh, is going to help by adding some spanish words and vocals to the recordings.

Jenna is a very sweet 17 year old and a typical teen in every way.  Because of her many illnesses, surgeries and the loss of a younger brother, Jenna has developed a genuine compassion for others. Jenna ended up having scoliosis and while they were correcting the scoliosis, a tumor was dislodged which caused a partial stoke. Jenna is now a partial paraplegic and was told by the doctor that she would never walk again. Jenna has baffled many doctors and medical professionals over her life time which has added to her resolve to walk once more. To encourage this hope we wrote a song sharing her struggles and victories with a pinch of finger wagging in the face of those who might have unknowingly stolen her spark. The lyrics proclaim “I want to walk again, I’m gonna walk again, yes I am I am, well the doctors said I never would, but I am, but I am, but I am”.

**The Writing Process

Jenna has some learning disabilities so we took it slow, I had the chorus idea and showed it to Jenna, she loved it. I asked Jenna to give me some words that would describe her desire to walk, how she feels about being in a wheelchair, what are the difficulties of learning to walk and what has inspired her to keep trying. We took those words and went to the rhyming dictionary and found all the words that would help Jenna tell her story and wrote the lyrics together. I asked Jenna to give me a little melody that was different from the chorus and what we finally came up with was a collaboration of notes, musical ideas, fun times and hopes.

**The Recording Process/Media Project

My son, two young musician friends, guitar player husband and I are waiting for the final mix to be complete. It will be interesting to see how it all falls together. I have been doing some short video clips of Jenna working with her PT, OT, and our recording sessions. I am excited about the finished product, how it will encourage Jenna to keep climbing her mountain and how it might provide inspiration to other young people who have their own set of difficult circumstances.

We have a pipe dream of the Jonas Brothers(Jenna is ga ga over them) singing it at one of their shows and having Jenna and other young people with disabilities part of the production.

Some of the words

When I wear by braces,

I see the look on your faces

When I get up, it’s really tough,

The prize for me, is at the end

So I try and I try and I try again

Stay Tuned: If all works out, it will be available for viewing @ The Singing Nurse YouTube channel.

Anyone have any connections to the Jonas Brothers ?

Hope you all have endured the cold winter, I am sooo.. looking forward to the warmer weather. March is one of those iffy months where the temps and conditions outside can be unpredictable. Just to encourage you, the warmer weather is just around the corner.

I have added a new page called “Jenna’s Story” under the Disabilities tab. I have known Jenna for about 14 years and this young lady and her family have endure many set backs. I was Jenna’s nurse when she was 3 years old and she has had health issues all of her life. Jenna was born premature and over time the family discovered Jenna had other issues which have impacked them greatly. I don’t want to let too much out of the bag because I want her tell the story. She is full of faith and I know she will encourage you with her unbelievable zest for life. If you have any comments or would like to ask a question, put Jenna in the subject and send us an email to: TheSingingNurse@gmail.com

Check out Jenna’s videos @ www.YouTube.com/TheSingingNurse

The special during March if you have not heard already, is a give away. Purchase The Singing Nurse CD during March and we will send you Two TSN Little Books while supplies last. You can read more about “TSN Little Books” under the Kids tab.

Have a wonderful month of March and remember to keep singing!

Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse