NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Anyone who's had a hard hospital stay can tell you, the people who keep your spirits up make all the difference in the world. Someone unexpected has just taken on that role at one Middle Tennessee hospital.
"I came in here a lot whenever I first came to the hospital," said 17-year-old Gabe Gingerich, sitting in a small chapel. "It feels like you can come down here to think, especially when you're struggling with thoughts."
This little chapel at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt brings a certain quiet comfort to Gabe. Quiet comfort is something he's needed after these last few months.
After experiencing unusually high blood pressure, Gabe was taken by ambulance from his hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky to Vanderbilt.
"I was having this pain in my chest, and I felt like I was about to have a stroke," Gabe said.
It was very scary for mom Leda Gingerich.
"They found that his kidneys were completely shut down," she said. "It was just kinda a shocker."
"I needed to start dialysis cause my kidneys were only functioning at 10% of what they should be," said Gabe. "It's a lot to take in, y'know what I mean?"
At the hospital, Gabe met some people. There was staff chaplain Lisa C. Hermann.
"This is our interfaith chapel," Lisa said. "It's an honorable space, and when I think about it, I think about a respite, a respite from tubes and machines, the noisiness."
Gabe also met Darnell Clay. Darnell works in nutrition services, but he also plays guitar on occasion. He knows the difference made around the hospital with a little music.
"I've played for cancer patients," he said. "I've played for little kids. Music has been calming people for generations."
On the first day, Gabe could leave his hospital room, his mom wheeled him into the chapel, and he began to play the piano. This 17-year-old patient began coming in to play piano for staff, for other patients and for anyone who just needed a little music right then.
"Each time I've stayed here, I've come down here and played," said Gabe.
"I can never give this man enough credit," Darnell smiled. "Music is something that really moves people, calms people's nerves in what they're going through. It makes everybody happy."
"Sometimes I'll sit and listen in my office," added Lisa. "I think it speaks to Gabe's authenticity that even when he is sick and going through a life-transforming treatment, he can bring joy and hope to others."
"It makes me really proud of him as a mom, because I know he is touching people's lives," said Leda. "You just stand there and listen, and sometimes you shed a tear or three. Music has been something that's held us together. It touches me. I don't know. There's not really words."
