A heavy metal band put on a heartwarming, head-banging performance for a hospitalized patient with a penchant for guitar riffs.
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Despite his desire to thrash about in mosh pits, Tim Berry, 27, was deemed too "medically fragile" to attend a rock concert. Hearing this, Roshene Lawson, the chaplain at the Ottawa specialized healthcare center Bruyère Health, decided to find a creative workaround to fulfill Berry's wishes.
Lawson visited local music venue Dominion Tavern and negotiated a deal to bring the rock band Scepter directly to Berry.
"It's about exploring what kind of exceptional care we can offer him in the midst of all of this. And sometimes we have to think outside the box, and this time, I went to a heavy metal concert," Lawson told CBC on July 31.
Lawson explained how she booked the unorthodox concert.
"I reached out to Scotty at the Dominion Tavern, and he didn't hesitate. It was a quick yes. Then he reached out to Scepter. They gave a quick yes. All of a sudden, people in heavy metal outfits with guitars and stuff are asking where the chaplain is. And people are looking confused, and there we are," Lawson joked in an extended interview.
"It was probably one of the best things I've ever experienced as a chaplain," she reflected.
Scepter Performs Heavy Metal Show at Hospital
Scepter members said that they didn't cut any corners and provided Berry with the full-throttle experience he craved.
"There are no half measures. If we do this, we're giving him the full experience," drummer John Crawford told CBC's The National in a segment the band shared to their official Instagram. "We had all our lights and our amps and instruments set up," the Scepter's Josh Collins added.
"Tim had tears in his eyes," Lawson told The National. "I asked him, were the tears because it was loud? And he laughed and said, 'No, I'm happy.'"
The Scepter played a 40-minute set for Berry, Lawson recounts. Lawson added that fellow hospital patients attended the concert and were provided tickets to make the experience more authentic.
"Everybody had to have their ticket to get in, and we tore the ticket, and they came in, and we had staff enjoying it with them," Lawson says.
Despite playing in a hospital room, Collins said the band went all-in.
"We wanted to give him a real show. Not a watered-down version because we were playing in a hospital," he said. "It was emotional, for sure, but mostly we just felt privileged to be there and to play for him."
