A Heartwarming Message From Violinist Who Survived Pediatric Stroke
EaZyHold received a particularly amazing message of appreciation from Vincent Ekpanyaskun, the father of a young violinist named Tiana. Tiana had a stroke at age 10 that caused the left side of her body to become paralysed. She had to relearn to do everything from walking to eating. She eventually relearned to play the violin with the help of adaptive aids to hold her bow. 18 months after her stroke, she auditioned and was accepted into Melbourne Youth Orchestra’s mainstream ensemble program.
On August 14th, Tiana’s father posted the following to his LinkedIn account:
I don’t usually make public praise posts, but Kerry Mellin and her creation EazyHold have made such a profound difference in the lives of people around the world, including my daughter’s, that I feel compelled to share this.
We were introduced to EaZyHold last year when Tiana joined the Adaptive Music Bridging Program at Melbourne Youth Orchestras, which helped her resume music after her stroke. Modifications to her violin included a red foam tube and aqua-coloured EaZyHold attached to her bow. As Tiana’s left hand struggles to hold her bow securely, the EaZyHold has been essential in enabling her to play again.
At the end of the year, Tiana graduated from the bridging program by successfully auditioning for a position in one of MYO’s ensembles, Melbourne Youth Junior Strings. We wanted to give her a more professional appearance, so I set out to update her mods with less colourful ones that would match her concert outfits.
I designed and 3D printed a black TPU bow grip to replace the red foam tube. Then, I started thinking of alternatives to the aqua EaZyHold. I tried many different materials, including elastic Velcro straps and neoprene strapping recycled from one of her old hand splints. My best attempt involved a silicone watch band mounted to the grip with some 3D printed hardware, but I couldn’t match the softness, stretch, and grip of the EaZyHold that allowed Tiana to hold her bow in comfort. If only they made them in black! Unfortunately, they used bright colours to differentiate between sizes, but I tried my luck anyway.
I asked EaZyHold if they had a black prototype we could buy. Kerry wrote back, telling us the entire range of EaZyHolds would be available in black in a few months. She also offered to send us a handmade one to use in the meantime! Deeply moved by her generosity, I opened the EaZyHold website to find out who she was.
I discovered that Kerry was the original inventor, having created it to help manage her own arthritis. I read of how she and her sisters learnt to craft with silicone, made a thousand prototypes in a week, and overcame discrimination repeatedly in their efforts to secure funding, gain recognition, find a manufacturer, and launch EaZyHold successfully.
I realised we had taken this seemingly simple device for granted. So much thought had been put into its design and effort into bringing it to the world. It was no wonder I had been unable to create anything as comfortable on my own.
Kerry refused to accept payment and sent us her handmade black EaZyHold. Tiana is so happy with her unique EaZyHold and has proudly been practising and performing with it since.
I cannot express our gratitude to Kerry and her sisters enough for their perseverance in bringing EaZyHold to the world and responding with such kindness to our special request. Your product has created opportunities for so many people, and your generosity is truly inspirational.
#Kindness #Motivation #Inspiration #Gratitude #Innovation #Creativity
Left: Tiana’s first bow grip, an aqua EaZyHold with red foam tubing on the violin bow.
Middle: 3D printed TPU black bow grip, silicone watch strap and PLA strap mount/hooks.
Right: 3D printed bow grip with custom-made black EaZyHold.
EaZyHold founder, Kerry Mellin, was absolutely floored by this message of appreciation. She responded:
Oh my goodness, I am truly humbled beyond belief with your kind words. Listening to your daughter Tiana play gives me so much joy! Just a little bit of help is all a child needs to thrive and develop immense talents and I am so thrilled to be a part of her fantastic and promising career! Kudos to you to Dad for working hard to make that dream of hers come true with your resourceful spirit to provide her with the tools she needs. We are here for you, always!
Watch Tiana use her custom black EaZyHold strap to play her violin below!
We are so grateful to Vincent and Tiana for sharing how our product has helped Tiana continue to live out her dreams of playing music. These stories keep us motivated to work towards our mission of creating innovative solutions to bring ease, comfort, and accessibility to the lives of individuals of all ages.
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