Singing People Peacefully to Sleep

Around the world, mothers soothe their babies by softly singing songs of love, hope, inspiration and sometimes, simply lilting tunes of rhyming fun. Whether sung in English, Spanish or Swahili, the language of these lullabies is universal, and universally comforting.

The melodic members of the volunteer Threshold Singers of North San Diego County, under the direction of Joan Mekler, bring comfort and serenity to HNC patients at the threshold of living and dying. They offer their a cappella harmonies bedside at no charge, as part of HNC’s integrative therapies program intended to enhance quality of life even as quantity of life diminishes.

Threshold Singers deliver whatever the patient and occasion call for, from hymns to childhood tunes that spark long-ago memories in people with dementia. Singer Heidi Versteeg recounts, “We sung ‘When the red red robin comes bob-bob-bobbin’ along’ to one Alzheimer’s patient whose eyes suddenly lit up in recollection.”

Heidi has observed, “When someone is actively passing, they may appear in difficulty and non-responsive. When we sing to them, their breathing often calms and they may even reach up toward the music. We truly feel as if we are … singing people peacefully to sleep.”