Divisha's Story
Updated: 6 days ago
Editor's Note: Each week, Prelude Music Foundation co-founders Ana Treviño-Godfrey and Jonathan Godfrey visit Ronald McDonald House Houston to lead a 45-minute Music Together® class for the families in residence. One family has been in residence there for more than 18 months with their daugther Divisha, and Ana and Jonathan were moved by how joyfully their family participate in the wee
And don't forget to scroll to the end of this post to see video of Divisha making music with us.
Hi Ana,
Thank you for asking us these questions. I have wanted to tell you for some time how much your Thursday music sessions mean to Divisha and to our entire family.
To really explain it, I think I need to tell you a little about who Divisha was before her diagnosis.
Before she became sick, Divisha was an extremely active child. Music, dance, sports, and activities were a big part of her life. She attended Bollywood/Western dance, classical dance, music classes, swimming, soccer, and other activities. She loved being involved in school and extracurricular activities. She was always doing something—singing, dancing, learning, playing, or moving.
Then her diagnosis changed her world very suddenly.
For a child who had been so active, treatment meant spending long periods inside hospital rooms, dealing with medications, procedures, appointments, weakness, and days when she simply did not have the energy to do the things she once loved.
We have now been staying at Ronald McDonald House for more than a year and a half during this journey. In the beginning, there were many Thursdays when Divisha was simply not strong enough to participate. Sometimes she did not have the energy to come downstairs. There were periods when she mostly wanted to rest or sleep.
But as her health and energy have improved, especially during the past several months, we have been seeing pieces of that active little girl coming back.
And your Thursday music sessions have become one of those places where we see her.
When you and the Prelude Music Foundation team arrive in the Great Room with the guitar, piano, microphone, shakers, scarves, and other instruments, something changes for her.
For those 30 or 40 minutes, she isn’t thinking only about treatment or hospitals.
She sings.
She moves her hands and legs.
She claps.
She plays with the instruments and scarves.
She wants to stand up and dance.
And when you put the microphone in front of her and encourage her to sing, we can see how proud and excited she becomes.
Sometimes she gets so energetic that, as her father, I stay close and try to hold or support her because I worry she might become tired or lose her balance. But at the same time, seeing her want to stand, dance, and sing again means more to us than I can easily explain.
It reminds us of the Divisha who used to go from dance class to music class, swimming, soccer, and all her other activities.
One of the strongest examples of what your music does for her happened when she was inpatient at MD Anderson and physically couldn’t come to Ronald McDonald House.
We would connect to your Thursday session through a video call on the iPad from her hospital room.
She might have spent the day feeling bored or tired from being inside the room. But once she heard your voice and the music and saw everyone participating, within several minutes we could often see her mood beginning to change.
She would find little towels, tissues, or anything similar in the hospital room and wave or toss them into the air like the scarves you use during your sessions. She would make sounds, move with the music, smile, and participate from her hospital room.
That was when I realized something important.
She didn’t necessarily need to be physically standing in the Great Room for the music to reach her.
Even from a hospital bed, it could reach her.
For those moments, she could forget some of what was happening around her and simply become a child enjoying music again.
I remember songs such as “She Sells Seashells by the Seashore,” the energetic “Baila” songs, and especially the idea, “I’m not singing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.”
That line means something different to me now because I have watched something very similar happen with my daughter.
And your sessions don’t affect only Divisha.
My wife and I enjoy those Thursday evenings too. I am normally a little shy about dancing or doing movements in front of other families, but somehow, when you start singing and asking everyone to participate, I find myself moving my arms and legs too. My wife participates and enjoys it as well. Even our son enjoys being there, although games usually compete successfully for his attention!
Thursday evening has become something our family remembers and plans around. We want to be at Ronald McDonald House when you come.
I know you come every Thursday for all the children and families at Ronald McDonald House.
But sometimes, as Divisha’s parents, it honestly feels as though you came just for her.
During a period when so many of the activities she loved had to disappear from her everyday life, somehow music found its way back to her through you and your team.
I don’t know exactly what to call that.
Maybe it is your personality, your energy, your love for children, your love for music, or simply a gift that you have.
But during one of the hardest periods of our lives, you sometimes feel to us like a gifted angel who happened to walk into Ronald McDonald House at exactly the time Divisha needed someone like you.
The medical teams have worked incredibly hard to care for Divisha and help her become stronger. What you and the Prelude Music Foundation team bring is different, but deeply meaningful: joy, movement, confidence, participation, connection, and a little piece of the childhood she had before treatment changed everything.
And now that she is becoming more active, we hope music can continue to be an important part of her journey.
We see her wanting to participate more—not simply sitting and listening anymore, but standing, singing, dancing, holding the microphone, and showing us that energy again.
As parents, those moments give us something very precious:
We get to see our Divisha again—not just Divisha the patient, but Divisha the child who has always loved music, dance, movement, and life.
Thank you, Ana, and thank you to everyone at Prelude Music Foundation for continuing to show up for these children and families.
Thirty or forty minutes may look like a small part of a week.
For our family, sometimes those 30 or 40 minutes mean much more than that.
With heartfelt gratitude, Srikanth & Family
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