That Certain Smile

The daughter of this patient came out into the hallway to request my presence for her mom.  She said, “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard! It gives me the chills.”  The patient was lying in bed with her eyes closed when I entered the room.  When she heard the music, she opened her eyes and turned to look at me and smiled.  She did not say anything, but the smile told me she loved the hymns that her daughter had requested.  As I turned to leave, I saw the patient’s husband standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes.  The daughter met me in the hallway sometime later and came to me and said, “I need to tell you that when you played for my mom, it was the first time today she had opened her eyes and smiled.  That meant so very much to us!”