Music, art a priority for charity aiding ill children
During the year that Samantha McCarthy made frequent trips to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, music quickly became her medicine of choice.
The Upper Arlington youngster — described by many who knew her as “electric” — treasured the sounds of Jack Johnson, Mat Kearney, Tracy Chapman and others.
But the comfort she drew from their songs stemmed from lessthan-desirable circumstances: Samantha battled Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic blood disorder that causes bone-marrow failure.
Her diagnosis in 2005 at age 6 prompted regular hospital visits and overnight stays, especially after she underwent a marrow transplant in August 2008 at the Fanconi Anemia Comprehensive Care Center at Cincinnati Children’s, the first
treatment center of its kind in the United States.
Samantha struggled with severe nausea, lung and skin problems, lethargy and seizures, said her mother, Nikki. Many times while in the hospital, she allowed only one unrelated visitor in her room: Brian Schreck, the hospital’s music therapist.
“I loved Sam,” said Schreck, now working in Louisville, Kentucky. “I loved doing anything I could think of to help her mind go somewhere else outside of the hospital.”
Music and art have been shown to help individuals dealing with stress, guilt or loss by allowing them to express themselves creatively, whether through painting, sculpting, learning to play an an instrument or singing.
Schreck used to visit Samantha weekly with a cart of instruments. During most visits, she would pull out her beloved iPod and the two would add their own track with the keyboard — her favorite instrument. Other times, they would look at posters of bands and artists or, every so often, they would just listen.
The bond they formed over music, he said, was mutual. Dispatch.com/video.
“I think about Sam all the time. She is like a guardian angel to me.”
The music fell silent for Samantha in 2009, when she died at age 11 of complications from the transplant, the only long-term cure for Fanconi anemia.
In 2013, Mrs. McCarthy organized a 5-kilometer charity run in memory of her daughter to help raise money for Fanconi anemia research. The fourth annual run will take place Sunday at Wolfe Park on the East Side.
More recently, seeking to revive her daughter’s love of all things artistic, Mrs. McCarthy established Sam’s Fans as a nonprofit and expanded its mission.
Besides the annual run, the charity has used fundraising happy hours, golf outings and fashion shows to provide music and art therapy for children facing life-threatening illnesses.
Music “gave her so much peace and joy when she was suffering so much,” Mrs. McCarthy said of Samantha. “When I see joy from other kids from music therapy, it’s not just about Sam anymore.”
Added, Samantha’s father, Dan, who serves on the board of Sam’s Fans: “Not everyone knows what music therapy is, but everybody has heard a song that makes them feel good. “(Music) connects everyone.”
To date, Sam’s Fans has raised $90,000, including $40,000 to support and even launch music- and art-therapy programs in Children’s hospitals throughout Ohio.
Nationwide Children’s received a $12,000 gift to fund a music therapist for home visits in the Columbus area. Sam’s Fans also provides a monthly contribution for a such home-based therapy.
Jessica Bogacik, the hospital’s music therapist for its hospice and home-based palliative-care team, praised the McCarthys and the gift from Sam’s Fans.
“Because of their donation, this music-therapy program is able to reach people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to receive care,” Bogacik said.
The McCarthys, who have three sons (Finn, Joe and Jack, all younger brothers to Samantha), hope to one day expand the reach of Sam’s Fans beyond Ohio to hospitals throughout the country.
The couple say they simply want to give back as a way of honoring what they were so graciously given: a kindhearted daughter.
“As a parent, you always want your kids to do great things,” Mr. McCarthy said. “Sam only had 11 years, but because of Sam’s Fans, she will always do great things.”