A CALL FROM CALIFORNIA

A CALL FROM CALIFORNIA
In 19?? I was seated a home during the Christmas Holiday season savoring every solitary moment in my easy chair. I bought the chair to while away my relaxing moments, but in the decade since it was purchased it has gotten very little use from me! My life is frantic and frenetic but on this night of December 27th I was enjoying being at home by the fair away from the madding crowd. As I was sitting there in blissful holiday peaceful repose the phone rang. I instructed no one to answer it. It could not be THAT important I thought out loud. However, the spirit of the season caused my sense of guilt to surface and I determined at least to look at the caller I.D. machine and determine who was on the other end. Much to my surprise an unknown name and location, Loma Linda, California peered up to me from it’s digital face. Who could this be, and better yet, how did they find me. With my high-profile existence it has become necessary to have an unlisted number to protect what privacy remains with my family. “How did they ever get my number?” I quarried, and the trouble they must have gone through was daunting. I picked up the phone to be greeted by Oscar Mink from Loma Linda, California. He was calling from a hospital there. He introduced himself and said he had a very important question he wanted to ask me. He continued, “Dr. Ballam, I heard a recording you made once called Music, the Divine Art, in which you said you sang for a man in a coma and he came out of it. Was that a true story?” It was with relief that I could respond to his question with affirmation. He went on to explain that his daughter Mindy had gotten sick just before Christmas Eve and had endured a very high fever which put her in a comatose state where she had remained, hospitalized for days. He and his wife had been told by the doctors there that Mindy had very little hope of recovery and it was proposed to them that they should remove all life support and let her move on. His question to me was “Dr. Ballam, should we do that?” Before I could respond to that most difficult of questions I asked if perhaps they had any indication that it was indeed her time to move on. Did he feel as her father that her work here on earth was completed? He thought only a moment then said “No.” I responded by saying “let’s try to bring her back!” I asked if he was aware of a song that held great meaning for Mindy. He said that he was certain that I am a Child of God was her favorite song. I told him to go to her side, hold her hand and sing the song again and again and watch for any sign of eye moment, muscle movement, respiration change. After doing this for an extended period I asked him to drop an occasional word and she if she will try to “fill it in.” He told me that he could not “carry a tune,” but that he was sure that his father who was flying in from Pennsylvania would be able to do that. I asked him if he would be so kind as to let me know what happened. Within a short few weeks I received a detailed description through the mail that told the following story. Mindy’s grandfather arrived and went to the hospital. He sat at her side throughout the night singing. At long last, he dropped out a word...I am a Child of ___. Mindy filled in the word God! He called for the nurses and family members who witnessed a repeat of the phenomena. Time passed and Mind filled in more lyrics until she could sing the song. It would be a difficult recovery, as Mindy would have to relearn to walk, talk, even swallow, but Oscar was certain that she had the fortitude and support to do that. The following August I was lecturing at a large University audience in the State of Utah when a note come to the lectern. It said there is a little girl named Mindy who would like to meet you. I knew instantly who it was and was directed ultimately to her seat on the front row of the auditorium. She was bright eyed and smiling as I knelt down to introduce myself. She thanked me for the influence I had been in helping her “come back.” I reminded her that it was nothing that I had done, but rather the love of her grandfather and the power of the music. I asked her if she remembered exactly what happened and she reported that she did. I asked her if she thought she would have the courage to stand before an audience of over 5,000 and tell them what she told me. She said she would if I could help her to the microphone. I did so, and this is what she reported. She said that she was in a “dark space” somewhere “close by but also far away”. She heard her grandfather’s voice and recognized the song. She said that the “spirit” through the music caused her to want to come back and be with her family, and she strove to come back until she was there. Mindy has made remarkable progress and has overcome monumental odds to regain her abilities with the help of her loving family. What is that power? That “spirit” to which Mindy referred. How often do we overlook the power music can have.