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![Rescue songs collage, clockwise from top left; 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Natalie Merchant, Jimi Hendrix, Easter Everywhere album by 13th Floor Elevator, and Tim McGraw collage of album covers and musical artists including ten thousand maniacs and singer natalie merchant jimi hendrix tim mc graw eric clapton dave grohl of the foo fighters and the thirteenth floor elevator](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/entertainment/music/info-2023/how-music-can-change-your-life/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/brain_health/2023/11/1140-rescue-songs-collage.jpg)
The Moment: Dealing With My Daughter’s Illness
The Song: “My Wish,” Rascal Flatts
Tami Fandrei, 51
Sacramento, California
My daughter, Madalyn, was 9 in 2007 when she fell ill with a strange ailment. She had vertigo and couldn’t eat, and it kept recurring. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. After spending years in hospitals and seeing specialists around the country, she was diagnosed in 2012 with a rare disease that usually presents in adults: autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, a disease in which your immune system attacks your autonomic nervous system. I watched her go from being a superfit, 9-year-old athlete to being completely bedridden.
“My Wish” by Rascal Flatts was my theme song during that time: “But more than anything, more than anything / My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to.” That’s all we want for our kids, right? I had so many more dreams for her than seemed possible at that time. Finally, after I reached out in desperation, a Chicago doctor was able to do a stem cell transplant treatment when she turned 18, and it miraculously stopped progression of the disease. Madalyn is now 26, thriving, and cooking at one of the city’s most popular restaurants. You’d never know what she’s been through. My wish for her came true. And that song still stops me in my tracks today.
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The Moment: Recovering From Surgery
The Song: “These Are Days,” 10,000 Maniacs
Scott Render, 59
Louisville, Kentucky
Getting a hip replacement at 29 sucks. When I was 9, I was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, so I knew that someday I would need surgery. It’s a rare disease with blood flow not going to the hip properly. After the surgery, I woke up at 4 in the morning really depressed. I’d had all these nightmares from the medications. So I put on “These Are Days.” The lyrics talk about: “These are the days you’ll remember. Never before and never since. I promise. You are blessed and lucky. You are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.” It was at that moment that my whole perspective changed. I knew I was going to be OK, and that song helped push me forward. To this day, whenever I hear that song, those lyrics take me right back to that moment. It was a good moment to get through.
The Moment: Having a Daughter
The Song: “Little Wing,” Jimi Hendrix Experience
Jeremy Miller, 52
Fisherville, Kentucky
During my wife Shelly’s pregnancy, I thought if the baby is a girl, this would be my song for her. The song is sort of mystical — carefree and full of wonder. It’s the lyrics “Well, she’s walking through the clouds.” I relate it also to being happy, and everything that’s sweet and wonderful that life brings. Whenever I hear it, it reminds me of my daughter, Ella Blu, and it calms me.
My daughter’s 13 now. She’s always had a wonderful imagination. She’s very creative. She sings all the time. The song reminds me of what’s important. She may know that it’s one of my favorite songs, but I’ve never specifically said, ‘This makes me think of you.’ Maybe someday I will. I wonder what she’ll have to say about that.
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