Fighting cancer is no fun for anyone.
But for 16 year old Tori Pence, it's a lot more tolerable when combined with some musical collaboration.
Tori says she has played guitar for as long as she can remember.
The studio- funded by country music great Garth Brooks- is a major hit of Cook Children's newly expanded Child Life Zone.
The 4,000 square foot space is now the third largest zone of any children's hospital in the country.
Tori says it makes the hospital stay go by a lot quicker.
The Child Life Zone also boasts a broadcast studio, teen room with video games and a pool table, a theater, library, kitchen and craft center.
Longtime local musician, Sonny Burgess is the hospital's full-time director of clinical performing arts.
He's seen how this creative escape not only helps sick kids...
"Some of these doctors are sharing that these kids are actually taking less pain medication when they're doing music," Burgess says.
Sometimes the music creates a lasting gift, for those who love them.
"If they do pass, we have something for the family, closure, hopefully for them, something for them to go back to," Burgess says. "It's amazing what music does."
But for 16 year old Tori Pence, it's a lot more tolerable when combined with some musical collaboration.
Tori says she has played guitar for as long as she can remember.
The studio- funded by country music great Garth Brooks- is a major hit of Cook Children's newly expanded Child Life Zone.
The 4,000 square foot space is now the third largest zone of any children's hospital in the country.
Tori says it makes the hospital stay go by a lot quicker.
The Child Life Zone also boasts a broadcast studio, teen room with video games and a pool table, a theater, library, kitchen and craft center.
Longtime local musician, Sonny Burgess is the hospital's full-time director of clinical performing arts.
He's seen how this creative escape not only helps sick kids...
"Some of these doctors are sharing that these kids are actually taking less pain medication when they're doing music," Burgess says.
Sometimes the music creates a lasting gift, for those who love them.
"If they do pass, we have something for the family, closure, hopefully for them, something for them to go back to," Burgess says. "It's amazing what music does."
