SwedishAmerican Hospital issued the following announcement on Dec. 22.
He plays on! Tim Shaffer spent hour upon hour waiting for his wife, Becky, as she went through cancer treatment. He filled that time on his guitar, peacefully strumming in a corner of the lobby. Over the years, the music soothed him as much as it did others who were there waiting for their loved ones. Becky’s gone now, having lost her battle with lymphoma this past June. But still, Tim plays on.
“I’m a caregiver,” he said. “My wife had cancer for years, and I was her caregiver. She would go in for treatment and I would come here and play. I felt like this was something I could do to help, and it’s something I want to keep doing.” Tim, a Rockford resident, is a big believer in the power of music as medicine. He went through his own health scare in 1998 when doctors found a brain tumor. Tim said music helped him heal.
“Playing music is a phenomenon,” he said. “Music helps connect. As soon as I started playing, my recovery just took off.” Tim often returns to the cancer center to share his gift. And though he’s a skilled musician, performing on stage in other public venues isn’t what he prefers. “There are other places to play if you want to play. But this is pure. Playing here, you just feel good about it.”
Play on, Tim…play on! #HopeIsHere
Original source can be found here.
Source: SwedishAmerican Hospital
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