November 13, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Cancer survivor brings peace to terminal patients with harp
by JEAN-BERNARD HYPPOLITE and LEN LEAR

Marilyn Lemke uses her skill as a harpist to soothe both traumatized animals and critically ill patients.

You probably never heard of this musical specialty, but Springfield Township resident Marilyn Lemke, 65, is a certified “bedside harpist.” She volunteers her skills at the Keystone Hospice on Stenton Avenue in Wyndmoor. Lemke plays her harp while walking from room to room, watching for the responses of terminally ill patients who are interested in listening to the soothing sounds of her small 23-string harp.

When the patient gives Marilyn permission to come in, she sits down beside the patient and plays. The interesting part in all of this is when Marilyn plays her harp, it is not necessarily just a musical interlude for the individual beside her; it’s a type of healing session.

“The purpose is to honor and respect them while bringing comfort, relaxation, joy and possibly distraction along with a cradle of sound,” explained Marilyn. This method of therapy helps to relax more than just the patients. Comments from family members, visitors and staff indicate that it affects them in a positive way as well.

One of Marilyn’s many memorable experiences was with a patient who had no family members by his side. Since he was unresponsive, she took note of whatever tune came into her mind, playing everything from her own compositions to memorized medleys.

At one point, Marilyn felt the urge to play hymns. She knew that some people love hymns to be played and others do not. As she continued to play, she felt a connection with the patient that she hadn’t felt up until that point. A nurse later revealed to Marilyn that the patient’s father had been a minister.

Marilyn is no stranger to adversity. In 2003 she received news that she had breast cancer. Going through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation put her on the receiving end of treatments and therapies. She feels that this experience has made her more responsive to patients as she plays at their bedside.

Amazingly, Marilyn’s music is not only soothing to Keystone’s human patients but to four-legged animals as well. An animal-loving nurse at Keystone, Nancy Ostroff, was walking her two rescue dogs (one a three-legged German shepherd) one day when she saw a man kick a Chihuahua puppy out of a moving car.

“The poor dog was bruised over its entire body and screaming in pain,” said Rosemary Twomey, vice-president for development at Keystone, “so Nancy rescued the dog, who is now named Baby, even though it cost her thousands of dollars in vet bills. We kid her that Baby cost her $500 per pound.”

Nancy would bring the dog into Keystone Hospice, which is animal-friendly, but the little dog was so traumatized by loud noises that it would sometimes shake uncontrollably. “Marilyn saw the dog shaking one day and started to play her harp,” said Rosemary.

“I was right there, and I saw the dog calm down. It literally melted. All the shaking and the fear stopped. We were all astonished and couldn’t believe it. I found out later that Bach music played on the harp tends to have that effect on animals.

“Nancy was so amazed that she started taking harp lessons from Marilyn so she could play for Baby. Unfortunately, when Nancy plays for Baby, she just howls. Apparently, Baby has good taste in music. I guess she wants only Marilyn to play for her.”

Marilyn’s mentor was Edie Elkan, the founder of Bedside Harp, an organization that provides intense training for harpists to play for bedridden patients.

Marilyn began playing the pedal harp when she was 10 years old in the town of Joliet, Illinois. She continued to play the harp throughout high school and college at the University of Illinois, where she majored in elementary education. Lemke has played for the Oklahoma City Symphony and the Estes Park Summer Symphony in Colorado. She moved to the Philadelphia area in 1970 and for 30 years taught preschool through fifth grade while raising two children. Marilyn belongs to the American Harp Society and also plays for the Bedside Harp Program at Abington Hospital.

“I honor and respect the patients at Keystone,” she said. “I always leave there feeling better than when I went in.”

For more information about Keystone Hospice, call 215-836-2440.