Sunday Arts Magazine

3 Jul 2022

Hush Nightlife – Dr Catherine Crock

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“It was winter 2002 when our two year old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia. Our world crashed around us overnight. There were moments when being heavily pregnant with our third child, I honestly thought we were losing the battle for Amelia’s survival.

It was then that we meet Dr Catherine Crock who was the doctor in charge of the all the lumbar punctures Amelia had to endure. Our world changed when a collaboration of committed staff and parents got the Hush Foundation up and running.

We were one of those families and music has been the comfort and centre to Amelia’s life since. We as a family will forever remain indebted to Catherine for having the real empathy to understand what our family was facing and introducing HUSH throughout the RCH for the betterment of all our children.

Amelia is now a healthy 16 year old doing year 11, who interestingly, doesn’t function without music. The experience she had as a very sick toddler has shaped her life forever and thanks to HUSH Amelia sings each day and has performed music at her school and at private functions. Amelia believes that the connection made to music when she was so sick is why she knows music will play an important part of her life forever”.

Thank you Hush and Dr Catherine for putting the families first and encouraging the role of music therapy not just in survival but for the quality of life experience for patients and their families for their lifetime!

The work that the Hush Foundation does is not about saving children it’s about making the journey of survival bearable and taking away the pain of the treatment.”