What’s it like to tell your story through song, and can collaborative songwriting bring wellbeing benefits for people going through the toughest of times? Over six months, we explored that question in collaboration with staff and parents of long-stay patients in Evelina London Children’s Hospital. The songs that were co-created are witness to the resilience, strength, love and hope that are stitched into the experience of spending months or more with a baby or child in hospital.

Lead Artist on the pilot, songwriter Todd Henkin, worked collaboratively with parents to hear their stories – bedside on wards, beside incubators, in hospital corridors and family rooms. As they opened up, he identified themes and refrains that became verses and choruses.  These experiences are often hidden from the outside world, familiar only within the hospital walls, where the sound of footsteps down the corridor has a significant resonance (is it a doctor bringing news?) and the air is thick with the beeping of hospital machines. Often a simple prompt like, “tell me about your experience of parenthood”, would elicit remarkable stories with themes of travel, family and faith, and powerful metaphors that spark empathy and insight. Before they knew it, participants were creating lyrics, and after 2 or 3 one-hour sessions, a brand-new song was born.

Dahlia and Zacarie wrote this song during their son’s year-long stay in Evelina. It celebrates their resilience and support of each other – one day at a time.