Walking Song Video Complete-“I’m Gonna Walk Again” by Jenna and Ms. Dawn
“I wanna walk again, I’m gonna walk again, yes I am, I am,
well the doctor said I never would, but I am, but I am, but I am.”
Jenna and The Singing Nurse, Ms. Dawn, that’s me… have completed our walking song video. We wanted to create this video to encourage others and to educate people about the courage and struggles of those dealing with disabilities and rehabilitation.
PT, OT, ST, supportive parents, brothers, nurses, doctors, friends and family each have played an integral part in Jenna’s progress thus far. Little by little each person has nurtured hope in Jenna.
The dictionary describes progress as a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal) and in this journey, Jenna would be the first to thank all the people working with her who have encouraged her to keep trying. She especially appreciates her greatest cheerleaders, her parents, for their love and continued support towards her life and progress.
The dictionary describes hope as desire, with expectation of obtainment the end product. All of the encouragement Jenna receives and gives helps to extend and nurture the hope in others. Jenna is looking forward to the future and working to accomplish goals and fulfilling her purpose. Jenna wants to encourage others and asks that you share her videos with your friends who may be going through tough times too.
In Jenna’s videos she passionately reminds her viewers that “you are who you are with or without a wheelchair and that her faith in God sustains her with ‘every step she takes'”.
Meeting of the minds with a two year old can be challenging. They can be so very loving at one moment and in a total melt down the next. One thing for sure, they are so very alive and totally free to express all that comes with the package.
Below are amusing comments from Toddler’s Rules on Ownership that I like, and below it are some quotes from the great Biblical expositor, G. Campbell Morgan, from his booklet “The Music of Life”, worth finding and reading. My husband and I cried when we read it together, Morgan shares about the stages of life in musical terms, a beautiful parallel.
1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s broken, it’s yours.
11. If it’s broken, but you are having fun playing with the pieces, it’s mine again. 12. If there is ANY doubt, it’s mine.
Dolce-softly and sweetly
“…I am dealing with ideal humanity; and I affirm in every child born–properly or improperly it matters nothing–between that little baby and Jesus there is perfect harmony…that tremendous phrase of His–“Of such is the Kingdom of God.” “
…from the pen of Ian Maclaren…on King Baby;..in a magazine in England…If you are in a omnibus or a trolley car, and baby comes in in a woman’s arms, his in king.
“The baby is always making music. What are the notes? Four–Mystery, Innocence, Dependence and Promise…in the presence of the baby you know, you are in the presence of mystery…you know the lines.
“where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here.”
“Mystery! You stand in the presence of mystery; and that is the first and fundamental note in the music of infant life.”
“Then at once, Innocence. No sin–I am talking of volitional wrong-doing–no sin, no sorrow, no shame.”
Mystery, and then the charm of its innocence.
What then? Dependence. What a music that makes, that this little life is absolutely dependent upon you. Neglect it, and it fades, passes out; it dies. Oh, the tragedy that there are children who fade because neglected, because not wanted, all over our lands. That this little life is dependent, is making music in the heart of mother all the time.
What else? The last note is that of promise. Again, to quote Mark Twain. When General Grant was Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Tennessee, a dinner was given in his honour at which Mark Twain was present and spoke in his own inimitable way. He said things sparkling with humour and profound in philosophy. He said among other things this, “In the land to-day there are perhaps twenty-thousand cradles rocking; and among them such, did we but know which they are, we would preserve and hold sacred for all the coming years.” He said, “In one of those cradles the future astronomer is blinking at the Milky Way, wondering what has become of that other milky way! In yet another of those cradles a future historian is lying, which he will probably continue to do to the end of his life. In yet another the future commader-in-chief of the army of the Tennessee is engaged in no greater piece of strategy than that of attempting to get his great toe into his mouth; and if the boy be father to the man, when General Grant attempted, he was pre-eminently successful! And then, said he, “The babies in the cradles will soon be on board the ship of state. Let them be carefully trained, for the future depends upon them.”
Can you see a little child without dreaming dreams and seeing visions? Many a man has been rescued by looking into the face of his newborn child. …It is arresting to me in that remarkable fifth chapter of Genesis, I read that it was after Enoch begat Methuselah, after the first baby came, that “he walked with God.” …So the babies come into the world, and the notes merge of mystery, of innocence, of dependence, and promise; and there is music everywhere, where the babies are.
Hope you enjoyed the quotes, we have such an awesome priveledge to mold and model to our kids, instead of calling our little dependent ones terrible, someone has reclaimed the truth by calling them terrific…
How many have felt overlooked, left behind, or ignored? My suspicion is that this is a common human emotion we all feel from time to time. Emotions are strong forces to be reckoned with and can be valuable and affirming in good instances and be totally deceiving in other instances. Whatever instance they may come, they are feelings none the less and need to be evaluated and measure against what is the truth.
I’ve come to learn that tears may be a sign of deep feelings, but not necessarily the truth about it all. Some of our deepest feelings may be reactions to our own make-up of unfounded fears and apprehensions. Feelings may lead our actions in thought and deed and totally miss the mark. Pride will also play a part when we “feel” someone may be thinking ill of us or question our motives. It is difficult to sift through it all and we may need an outside mind to help us pull the pieces together.
Feelings can also warn us of danger and eminent harm and the sensing of what is not right about an event or word. Feelings in this situation are there to help protect us. The descript word “feeling” in this instance may be better named “discernment”. We have to be open, non reactionary and mature enough to know the difference which comes with time, experience, learning, and surrendering our own ideas.
Our own ideas, is that what we want, can they always be trusted? We shall look into the “matter” no pun intended, or maybe it does make sense that what I really want to say is that you and I do matter. It is comforting to know there is a measuring stick to evaluate what is true, what is true about the world, what is true about us and people in general.
I live my life from a biblical world view and the scriptures are my template. I strive to “listen and do”, a statement I reiterated and reminded my children as they grew. Don’t be just a hearer of the word, but a doer as well. The Bible has a lot to say about human behavior, what is true about our hearts and what is in them. The scriptures talk a lot about living our daily lives and looking to and seeing hope in our futures, which is our hope in His future for us.
Psalm 139 talks about how we are wonderfully and fearfully made, I’m sure you have heard those words before. In the same Psalm it says He was there watching as we were coming together, as He was putting us together in our mother’s womb. How awesome is that, like an artist painting a picture, He adds color, shading, blends it all, and stands back to see how His masterpiece is coming together. Do you think you matter? I’d say you are pretty special and of course none of us are prints, we are all the original deal.
You were created for and by God. Wow, what a revolutionary and life giving and life changing thought. In the book of Ephesians (a book in the New Testament of the Bible) it says God has His good works ready for us to deliver on. Awesome! We are part of the plans of God; we get to work together with the creator of the universe. Do you matter? Take the time to read all of Ephesians 2, it is wonderful.
Here is the part that talks about how He has created us to do His good works.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2: 8-10 New Living Translation
When we come to God and say oh my, I’m wrong, I’ve blown it, ask Him to forgive us and set us on a new path, He does just that. We knowingly and miraculously become part of His team. God helps us discover our gifts and talents “and then”, we learn and long to, with His help, “do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Do you matter? Yes!
Dawn Ginese
Below is a young child’s version of Psalm 139
Psalm 139 paraphrased:
1. Lord you know all about me.
2. You know when I sit and when I wake-up, You know my thoughts.
3. You know when I go places and when I go to sleep. You know what I do every day.
4. Before I speak, You know what I’m going to say.
5. Your hands care for me.
6. It is hard to understand how you know me so well.
7. I can’t run away from You. I can’t hide from you.
8. Wherever I go You are there.
9-10. If I try to fly like a bird or swim like a fish, Your hands lead me and Your hands hold me.
11-12.When I’m afraid of the dark, the black night is like daytime to You and You are not afraid.
13. You made and formed every little part of me. You put me together in my mom’s tummy.
14. I thank You, because you made me. What You do is wonderful.
15. You watched as You made me.
16. You saw me before my body was complete. Everything about me was planned in Your book before I was born.
17. You have so many thoughts about me, I can’t count them all.
18. If I were to count all Your thoughts about me, they would be more that the grains of sand. When I wake up I am still with You.
Just wanted to say Happy Easter to all of you who stop by.
Easter is a wonderful time of year, the weather is starting to break, flowers are pushing their way into the world and we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus.
What a great deal, we give God all our sins and He gives us “a Great Mercy” and Eternity with Him. Have a wonderful Week. Sing to the Lord a new song…
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 known Jenna for about 14 years (update 18 yrs) 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
(When you listen & watch the “Walking Song Vid” You will find a lot of videos on YouTube where Jenna shares her story. ***Jenna went to be with the Lord in 2013, her family and friends will miss her greatly)
1) Hand Washing
2) Dental Hygiene
3) Dentist Visit
4) Flu Prevention
5) Lyme Disease Prevention
6) Audiologist Visit
7) You are Special
8) Body Parts/Kindness
9) TSN Resource
Each lesson will be accompanied with a song performed and sung by The Singing Nurse! Your kids will love the catchy tunes and sing themselves to a healthier life.