An American college football star has won quite a significant amount of praise after a video of him playing the piano with a young cancer patient surfaced. Jacob Karam, a quarterback from the University of Memphis, volunteered at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on Monday night. It was there when he bonded and formed a friendship with 11-year-old Breanna Becegeay, who is currently battling leukemia.
Both of them sat down together on a piano and played a total of ten songs. One of the tracks included a pop song by Jesse J, which was filmed down by Breanna’s mother, Dara Bertucci. “This just made my night. He (Karam) was playing the piano for the kids… Well my child had to be the one singing to all his songs. She didn’t want him to stop,” stated Dara on the video of a track she had posted onto YouTube.
Jacob mentioned to CBS Sports that he had a soft spot for sick kids at St Jude. This was why he felt that this was the perfect opportunity for him to help out, even if it was merely just playing the piano for the kids. “The founder of St Jude, Danny Thomas, was Lebanese – and we were raised to support St Jude. It’s almost part of our heritage. When I transferred to Memphis, it was icing on the cake that I could help out at St Jude,” explained the college football star. For the full story along with the video of him playing alongside Breanna, you can refer over here.
Although music on its own isn’t a definite cure for leukemia, it can still brighten up one’s day. Just based on what Dara stated about Breanna not wanting Jacob to stop playing, clearly shows that music can go a long way in connecting two individuals, regardless of what walks of life they come from. If you are able to cheer someone else up or make their day a lot better by simply playing a tune for them on the piano, then why wouldn’t you not do it? If the reason is because you do not have knowledge of playing the piano, then perhaps it is time for you to give yourself a chance to learn.
Here at Awesome Piano, we offer piano lessons in Singapore for both children as well as adults. We strongly believe that it is never too late to pick up a new musical instrument and learn it.