Jacob's Song of the Day (11/12/2015): "One Love" by Marianas Trench

Today's song pick is from a band that I've come to love. I wanted to see them when they performed live over the summer (for free!) at the PanAm Games, but I was too sick to be able to stand outside. My song pick today is "One Love" by Marianas Trench.  Have a listen and read why I chose this song today:

I've written about how music is important to my healing process, it distracts me, changes my mood, and inspires me to move when I really don't feel like it. Going to concerts has been pretty amazing. I know that some people out there are like "Really? An 11 year old going to rock/hip-hop/pop-punk concerts?!" but for those 3 hours that the bands are on stage, it's like being in a totally different world. Most of the time at least (I've had to cut two HUGE concerts short because of my health).

So today I'm super-excited because I just found out that Marianas Trench is coming to town and my mom has the pre-sale password! I wish that we could get the Meet & Greet package for these guys, but I'll be happy just to be there. Which means that I got two amazing concerts in my hometown to look forward to in the spring.

I'm kind of glad that these concerts sell tickets so far in advance (concert for them and Hedley is in the spring). It gives me something to look forward to, something that pushes me through the day to get me one day closer to something great. While I try to stay focused on the present moment, it's always nice to have a short-term goal to work towards in the future. It reminds me that there are brighter days ahead to look forward to.

This is just the sort of thing that I mean when I talk about the power of distraction in children's medicine. When I have something else to focus on, to look forward to, all of the medical stuff doesn't feel so "heavy" and the days don't feel as tortuously long. 8 hours of staring at the paint-chipped walls doesn't make the day go by faster. This is why I want to make Jacob's Healing Rooms a reality, so that other kids getting their IV outpatient treatments can have a place where they are distracted however briefly from reality. A place where they don't feel that a sense of "please just let this be over" or ask "Can we go home yet? How much longer?". I want a place where parents can feel that they too can relax and just be with their child, rather than worrying how they're going to keep them distracted. I want a place where even sick children can feel like just plain "children" again. A place where the staff are excited to work in, that can even inspire them to even more greatness.

It all seems like a pretty simple idea, right? But none of this will be possible without your help. Please help support Jacob's Healing Rooms, follow me on my Twitter account (@KidWithCrohns) and consider making your $1 donation to help make my dream of helping sick kids come true.

*To DONATE to JACOB'S HEALING ROOMS please click HERE*