Editor's note

Image caption: Greg Rienzi
Editor

I first met Kerry Devlin—and her acoustic guitar—years ago.

She's a senior music therapist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine, and I was interviewing her for a story on how playing and listening to music helps those with movement disorders such as Parkinson's. What I didn't know at the time was that Devlin provides music therapy to some of the neediest patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She had just come from a session with someone in critical care, playing songs on her guitar to ease the woman's pain. Devlin's heart was still racing. Her passion, and the tales of bedside healing she shared that afternoon, stuck with me.

Years passed before Devlin and I reconnected. Yes, she was still playing and singing to hospital patients (and you can read her story on p. 34). She had recently worked with a patient in a coma, a 40-year-old woman with a love of '80s arena rock. Devlin and the woman's family members would sing songs from the likes of Journey and REO Speedwagon, and over time caregivers noticed the patient's vitals improve. The woman would eventually wake up and be released from care. In hearing that story, I remembered what struck me that first time we chatted. Devlin provides not mere background music but an immeasurable dose of peace, hope, and humanity to someone desperate for all three. This world needs more Kerry Devlins. We hope you enjoy her story and this issue. Thank you for reading.

Greg Rienzi
Editor