Randy Kernus was not expected to live.
Kernus survived the trauma, beating the experts initial predictions.
After several weeks of routine rehabilitation therapies, the paralysis went away.
Kernus speech, however, was slow to return.
Thats where they met Tom Sweitzer.
Some were joined by caregivers; others came solo.
Everyone held sheet music.
Lets start by telling us one of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions, Sweitzer said.
But this next exercise wasnt for the voice; it was for the brain.
The singers went around the room and traded stories of food and family.
When it was Kernus turn, he told the group, Pumpkin pie is one of my favorites.
But on top of that, obviously, its football for me.
Nothing about his sentence was incomplete.
The breakthroughs Kernus has experienced since joining the stroke choir are not unique.
Sentences were short and often incomplete, and pauses between words stretched several seconds.
And now its like full sentences very quick, super responsive, she says.
Some people say that its like magic.
I dont think its like magic; its like music.
Thats just really what it is.
But speech and music also share a connection.
And studies have found that singing can help rebuild speech pathways.
The goal: One day theyll drop the melody but keep the words.
