A Special Trip

Some of you are aware that I just returned from China last week. While that was a great experience, it is not the special trip that is the subject of this post. Instead, the title refers to my trip to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital pharmacy late Saturday morning to pick up a prescription for Flint (my first and only husband). I was dressed in my usual Saturday morning attire of a baseball cap and walking duds since I had just completed my walking trek of the Forest Park bike trail (funny, how I still call it that even though there is a dedicated path for walkers/runners) and was looking none too wonderful. I planned to just rush in, get the prescription and rush back out -- hoping I would not run into anyone I knew. As I walked through the revolving doors I was met by the most awesome of sounds which I realized was the singing of warm-up scales. I continued walking and saw approximately 30 people (their backs to me and dressed almost as fancy as I was) singing in the lobby of the Center for Advanced Medicine. I walked a little slower because the beautiful sound (again, this was just scales) compelled me to listen. The sound wafted up to the third floor and everyone I passed had a hint of a smile on their faces. The staff working behind the pharmacy counter also seemed a bit more joyful (don't get me wrong, they are always helpful and professional, but there seemed to be something extra there on Saturday). I learned from one of the nurses who had accompanied a patient from outside of St. Louis to the pharmacy, that the group rehearsing was the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and they were going to perform on Sunday for patients and their families. The out-of-town patient shared how special he thought it was that the hospital would be so thoughtful as to have such an amazing group come in and entertain. Said he had heard Barnes-Jewish was special, but this was more than he expected.
I applaud the person or persons who came up with the idea of having the chorus come to sing and am so glad I was running an errand at just the right time. It was so neat to see patients, families and staff peering over the balcony to get a glimpse of those who were making such beautiful music -- even just in rehearsal. And, as I relunctantly left the building on Saturday, the words of "more than expected" uttered by the out of town patient echoed as music to my ears. "More than expected" is an apt reflection of what occurs when you take the world's best medicine and make it better.