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A traumatic brain injury and new ability to play the harp are inspiring one woman to help others who are suffering. Rachel moore reports.
Soft, angelic lullabies echo around the neonatal unit. Premature babies sleep, monitors beep, and parents sleep.
Shellie Hanley, dressed in angel wings and a halo, is standing softly playing the harp.
He developed his talent just two years ago after suffering a fall at home in December 2018.
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Warwick Smith / Stuff
Shellie Hanley playing soothing music for babies in the Palmerston North Hospital neonatal unit.
Hanley, 53, hit his head and suffered a brain injury that caused him to lose his short-term memory. But the trauma also triggered the ability to listen to and understand music.
Ivan Iniesta, director of neurology at Palmerston North Hospital, says that gaining new skills after a brain injury is rare, but not unheard of.
When you damage one side of your brain, the neurons on the opposite side can, to some extent, take over and compensate for the damaged part.
The areas of the frontal or temporal lobes are more exposed in a traumatic brain injury. People who suffer damage to the left side of the brain may lose part of their verbal memory, but they find new forms of expression.
WARWICK SMITH / Things
Palmerston North Hospital neurology leader Ivan Iniesta says it is rare, but not unheard of, that ability can be unlocked after brain injury.
As a result, the right side of the brain, also known as ‘the creative side’, somehow takes over and can expose musical talents.
Iniesta says that patients who are predisposed to certain abilities may then be able to discover certain creative networks in their brains that they previously couldn’t access.
“A brain injury can lead to significant disability, but occasionally it can bring up abilities that may have been hidden or inhibited.”
He says that when you reach adulthood, you are less inclined to try new things rather than fall into a rut with things you can already do.
“The adversity of having a brain injury can provide an opportunity to develop new skills.”
Hanley can now create lullabies in her head, before translating them into music she can perform.
“The part where my brain is damaged, the doctor said, is around the back of my head, the lower temporal lobe; he calls it the center of music.”
He found different forms of treatment to improve his recovery and decided to pursue interests in nature and music.
“To play the harp, it takes two years to develop muscle memory in the fingers,” says Hanley. “It is quite a long process, it is one of the most difficult instruments to learn.”
However, a week after receiving a harp, he was composing music and preparing to perform at the Kurawaka Retreat Center in Porangahau.
“I would see my doctor for checkups and he would say, ‘Actually, your harp has rewired your neural pathways.’
Emboldened by her recovery, Hanley’s world now revolves around music.
“My whole journey since this instrument came into my life is going to places where people are suffering.”
He has been playing in hospitals, hospices, dementia units, psychiatric wards, and nursing homes.
Warwick Smith / Stuff
Shellie Hanley learned to play the harp after a traumatic brain injury.
Harp teacher Rod Thomas says Hanley picked up the instrument quickly and has natural ability.
He doesn’t read music, so Thomas taught him chords and gave him the tools to learn by ear.
“Everything it does is intuitive. He has a great sense of music. “
Hanley combines melodies and sequences, and composes original music influenced by other songs and the environment.
The Palmerston North Hospital Neonatal Unit has become a regular audience: every fortnight they play for their premature babies.
“It is an absolute honor and privilege to play for these premature babies. They come to this world so early and in order to give them the gift of comfort and peace. “
Palmerston North Hospital Nurse in Charge Melissa Woodd says lullabies are calming for everyone; babies, parents and staff.
“She has a really lovely nature and parents love it. This can be quite a stressful time, so it’s nice to have something. “
Inspired by the performances, Hanley wants to compose an album of lullabies.
She says she often listens to music at night and believes it is related to a childhood incident.
“Much of this music comes from a near death experience I had when I was six and a half years old. [almost] drowned in the Upper Hutt River.
“It was like hearing angels sing to the back of a beautiful symphony, and it went in endless directions, the harmonies were just phenomenal.”
Warwick Smith / Stuff
Hanley likes to play soothing lullabies, which brings calm to other people’s lives.
She believes that music saved her life when she was underwater. The sound stopped his struggle and he was conscious enough to hear a voice telling him to push his hand over his head.
Hanley wakes up during the night and records her ideas.
“What I had to do was grab my phone and set up my harp, record whatever was coming in into a voice note, and then go back to bed.
“I would wake up in the morning and didn’t remember doing that. I would have to check my phone to see what I had recorded. “
Her forgetfulness extends to cooking and dating. He has burned five pots on the stove and struggles to attend meetings.
“I remember going to my hair appointment for the first time and it took me [the hair-dresser] half an hour to detangle my hair, and she said, “When was the last time you brushed your hair, Shellie?” And I said, ‘I can’t remember.’
Hanley has been forced to learn a completely new way of life.
“If I had to be anywhere or if I had put a pot on the stove, I would set an alarm, write a note and leave it by the phone. When the alarm went off, I would check the note. “
You have also found rehab frustrating and may find it difficult to strike up a conversation.
“… having the words there, but not being able to get them out and speak.”
