A Choir of Nurses Surprised their Colleague Who Has ALS with an Emotional Holiday Home Visit
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A choir of nurses celebrated the holiday season by surprising their colleague, who is battling ALS, with an emotional home visit.
The Nurse Choir, a group of front-line nurses of Northwell Health who first gathered in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began, visited Carly Colvell at her Plainedge, NY home to sing and share their support for her while she battles ALS.
Winnie Mele, Director of Perioperative Services at Plainview Hospital and member of the choir, spoke to PEOPLE about the "magical" experience.
"When we got invited to sing for Carly, I think I can speak for all of us, that was the most emotional gig that we did," Mele says. "Every song we sang had a message of hope. Here's this girl in this wheelchair who feels hopeless, yet every song we sang had to do with hope and things are going to be better and lean on me and don't worry."
Colvell, 43, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ALS in 2019. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rare degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, followed by slurred speech.
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According to the Mayo Clinic, because the disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spine that control muscle movement, patients slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk, and breathe on their own. There's no cure for ALS, which typically claims the lives of those who are diagnosed with it within three to five years, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. However, some patients can live decades.
Colvell, a former employee in the marketing department at Northwell Health, has documented her journey online, sharing that she's having difficulty grieving and accepting her new reality with the disease.
"Each change is emotionally destructive," the mom of two wrote in a blog post, noting that she has 24/7 nursing care. "My whole body has changed. I no longer can use my arms, hands, or legs, and the most painful has been the loss of my head and neck muscles, which causes head drop."
"I really need help accepting this change. I've lost just about all of my dignity. You don't know how strong you are until you have no other choice. Isn't that what they say?" Colvell added.
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The Nurse Choir attempted to lift Colvell's spirits this holiday season by showing up to her home and singing seven songs in her driveway for her loved ones. Mele tells PEOPLE that it was the perfect holiday surprise and Colvell's family expressed gratitude for the heartfelt gesture.
"I think because we're nurses, whenever we do anything that has to do with the sick or health care it means so much more to us," Mele says. "She's crying, her husband's wiping her tears, the nurses suctioning her trach, the whole thing was so emotional."
"You read her blog posts and I can hear in her voice now that she's losing hope," she admits. "We had an opportunity to bring her joy. And I think it wasn't all about Carly. It was about Carly's husband. It was about the kids, the nurse, her mom, her sister. You know, it was just a minute of fun and we tried to make it celebratory."
