Bedside Stories
By Leslie Stainton, RC Faculty in Creative Writing and Literature
For many hospital patients, the chance to tell a story can be a godsend. “I was really pleased with the sound of my voice,” says a woman named Darleen, who recently recorded a story for friends while undergoing an extended hospitalization for cystic fibrosis at the University of Michigan Hospital. “I sounded healthy!”
Darleen is one of approximately 125 patients at Michigan Medicine who’ve recorded personal stories through Story Studio, a unique bedside program that invites patients in the University of Michigan Hospital to record their stories for family and friends. Jeff Evans, an instructor in the Social Theory and Practice Program at LSA’s Residential College, co-founded Story Studio in 2012 in collaboration with writer Ami Walsh and Elaine Sims, director of Michigan Medicine’s Gifts of Art Program. Story Studio is one of the bedside programs offered by the Gifts of Art Program at Michigan Medicine.