In my final year of college, at the age of 20, I was participating an internship at a state hospital behind lock doors on the 8th floor. It was the ward for emotionally and mentally challenged patients. My first day on the job I arrive around lunchtime – for the most part, the staff was at lunch except for the 2 nurses behind the chicken-wired office window. I had never seen this kind of window before and wondered what event might have occurred in the past that prompted this reinforced window. A momentary frightening thought!

I walked around the ward, passing patients who were suffering from all kinds of issues. As I wandered through the ward, came upon the occupational therapy room in the back. It was the dark but I heard some noise coming from inside – like someone in pain. I looked inside and a woman was writhing on the floor, talking about the little blue men who were coming to get her. Sadly, she had slashed every one of her major arteries with a razor blade that was mistakenly left out and accessible. Panicked, I ran to the desk and informed nurse behind the window what had happened. And, just like in the TV shows, I hear a “Code Blue” go out over the loud speaker in the hospital. They paged the doctor and thankfully, he was able to save her.

The doctor thanked me for having the presence of mind to get help. However, I was visibly shaken. He asked if I wanted to go out for a short walk to get some fresh air. I did. On the walk, out of the blue, he asked me if I could sing. I said, “I don’t know!” But then, he asked me to give it a try. I didn’t know many songs but I chose John Denver’s, Leavin’ On A Jet Plane. At the end of the song, we were both a bit dumb-founded – I actually could sing, and well!

As a child and young adult, I was quiet and shy. In fact, my favorite response to most, when asked a question was, “I don’t know.” Now, however, it seemed to me that singing could be a wonderful way to help me move through the blocks that kept me from expressing myself in the world. I vowed to keep on singing and even taught myself to play the guitar – well, enough to accompany myself. Of course, I chose to continue to learn John Denver songs – they were simple enough yet resonated so deeply with my soul. For many years, I sang professionally in Los Angeles, New York and Aspen, Colorado!

I am grateful to this day for the music of John Denver – it provided a place for my voice to be heard! The fun part of this story is that, in life’s twists and turns, I did actually meet John Denver, 20 years later. One of the greatest honors in my life was to be able to sing backup with him. What a joy!