A 13-year-old Billings girl who was struck by a car while training for a half-marathon is now preparing to run a full marathon, crediting music therapy as a turning point in her recovery.
Hear her story below:
Maezie Brewer was hit by a car on Broadwater Avenue in May of last year. She spent four nights and five days at St. Vincent's Regional Hospital in Billings with severe injuries.
"I got hit by a car," Brewer said. "Obviously I don't remember anything after that."
Her mother, Jenay, witnessed the accident from her car.
"I actually saw it because I was driving away from her as she was going to finish her run. And I looked in my rear-view mirror. Something just didn't look right," Jenay said.
Maezie said she was unresponsive for several minutes after the impact.
"When I was laying there, like knocked out, I guess I didn't show like any signs of like being alive for like...four or five minutes," Maezie said.
During her hospital stay, a music therapist named Brooke visited Maezie with a guitar and her voice, and the effect on the family was immediate.
"She just kind of sang the spirit into the room," Maezie said.
The session left a lasting impression on Maezie and her family.
"And I just remember sitting right there, like, I was like, why am I here? What am I doing? She's just like singing,and it was very like calming. And my parents always say that was like the turning point," Maezie said.
Jenay said the music therapy session gave the family a new sense of direction.
"From that point on, we could, we could realize the gravity of the situation and move forward instead of just kind of grinding it out," Jenay said.
Brooke explained the physiological impact music therapy can have on patients.
"It can slow our heart rate down. It can help with our respiration rate. It can even help with oxygenating our blood. So when our whole body is in a more relaxed state, like during the music therapy session, we heal faster and we heal better," Brooke said.
Maezie recovered well enough to set her sights even higher than before the accident.
"So I was like, might as well skip the half and just do the full like the half didn't work. So I might as well do the full one," Maezie said.
She also credited her family, her care team, and her faith as essential parts of her healing.
"...what I believe is like God's will, like, saved me," Maezie said.
Intermountain Health is holding a Make a Call for Kids benefit from June 1 through June 6 to help our local kids, like Harper, survive and thrive. Funds raised will benefit children’s services at St. Vincent Regional Hospital, home to the only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Surgery Program in eastern Montana.
Donate at svhkids.org or call 406-237-KIDS or text KIDS to 32037.
