When people are very old and deteriorated
and no one enters their world
and they're just sitting there
they will withdraw inward more and more
and their desperate need for connection
is all now inside
and if a person is all alone
even if they're very, very deteriorated
there's a longing for this kind of closeness
Mrs. Wilson, Hello.
You want me to sit?
Can you see me good?
Gladis Wilson is a wonderful example of
a person who was in the phase
of repeptative motion
where people use movements
repeptitive movements
because they don't have any more speech
or very little speech
but they have human needs
that need to be expressed
...
Are you crying?
You're crying, you have a tear right here.
In your face.
You have a little pain?
You want me to touch you?
You're very sad?
Can you see me?
Is it scary? Are you afraid?
And if this person sits with their eyes closed
rocking back and forth and maybe there's a tear
coming down
there's a need there
there's a little tear, that's coming out
You feel it?
You feel a little tear?
If you gently
use touch, and I touched Gladis Wilson with the fingertips
right here on the cheek
is where the mother
usually touches a child
if you touch an infant there
it looks up and every cell
remembers where it was touched
by the mother
and often that person
knows even if they can't
say a word at that moment
they won't talk.
Or they don't want to talk
but there's a communication
And that person is no longer alone
can you let me in a little bit
you think, just a little
you think I could be with you and Jesus for a minute
pat, pat, pat
Jesus loves me
this I know
for the bible tells me so.
I used music because
when speech is gone
music especially
with Gladis Wilson it was religious music.
Because there's an emotion tied to it.
And safety tied to it.
So i used her old church songs.
Singing: Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so
What I did was when she moved
I moved with her
and when I was singing because she didn't sing with me so I
matched the intensity of my voice to the intensity of her movements
and pretty soon for a split second
we became one person
Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so.
So at one point when she got
very quite
and very peaceful
and my voice became
very quiet as hers and very peaceful and my breathing
slowed to her breathing
she pulled me to her
and I moved with her
and for her at that moment
I believe I was a symbol of her mom
Can you open your eyes now?
Do you see me?
Feel safe and warm?
Yes, yes can you sing with me?
He's got the whole world
in his hands,
he's got the whole world in his hands
he's got the whole world
in his hands he's got the whole world
in his hands.
He's got the whole world in his hands.
He's got the mother's and the father's
in his hands
he's got the mother's and the father's
in his hands
he's got the mother's and the father's
in his hands
he's got the whole world in his hands.
He's got the mother's and the father's
The breakthrough
doesn't happen every time
the person
will not always
open their eyes and look at you
but if you keep trying
and you keep centering yourself
and really look at that person
and really mirror their movements
maybe not this time
but the next time you come
you'll have a communication.
Do you feel safe? You feel safe? Yeah.
With Jesus, yeah. And me.