Artful healing with Nancy Colier

Using the arts to heal

Full of color, life and laughter, Nancy Colier, knows the powerful affect art can have on physical trials. For the past 35 years she’s cultivated creative rehabilitation experiences to aid others in their journeys — using water coloring, singing, playing musical instruments, pet therapy and other innovative techniques.

Nancy, who recently turned 80 years old, thrives on uplifting the depressed, debilitated and diseased by adding hope and joy to their lives through personal artistic encounters. During her lifetime, Nancy has visited thousands of patients, but in 2018 Nancy became the patient at St. Mark’s Hospital — and not just once, but twice.

Kayaking across the kitchen floor

While living in her home in Pennsylvania, Nancy tripped, fell and broke her hip and leg. Her cell phone laid useless upstairs next to her bed, while Nancy laid helpless on the kitchen floor. Using her creativity, she grabbed two cushions from the kitchen table’s chairs and positioned them under her body — then made the only movement she could.

“I pretended like I was kayaking and got myself to the front door,” Nancy recalls. “Then I put a sign under my front door that said, ‘Help! Call 911!’ I was there for seven hours, calling for help and singing loudly. Finally, my mailman rescued me. During the waiting time, part of me was said, ‘Put your head on the pillow and die,’ while the other part said, ‘Don’t you dare — you still have a mission to fulfill!’”

New home, new hip

After recovering from surgery to repair her leg and hip, Nancy decided to move from Pennsylvania to Salt Lake City so she could live closer to her daughter. That’s a mighty large move for an 80-year-old. Nancy’s daughter created a lovely bedroom for Nancy but stepping up from the bedroom into the kitchen proved painful and damaging.

“Every time I took a step up, the pins in my hip and legs loosened. The whole hip was in pain. My doctor said I needed a total hip replacement but before the surgery I really needed an apartment without steps,” Nancy said.

Nancy moved into her new home and three days later underwent surgery to get her new hip. Dr. David Curtis performed the total hip replacement surgery, and Nancy spent days recovering at St. Mark’s. During that time, Nancy says she became wonderful friends with the St. Mark’s nurses and staff and now recommends the experience and location to anyone who needs it.

After St. Mark’s, Nancy went to a temporary rehabilitation center where she met more friends and worked diligently at regaining her strength and mobility.

“I went from being in a wheelchair, to a walker, to a cane and now I’m walking without any help at all,” Nancy announced proudly.

Nancy walked into her new home with her new hip ready to slowly settle into her new life. She began unpacking one small box at a time. She brought out her paintbrushes and reignited her art therapy. In fact, she was happily helping her patients create beautiful, inspiring Christmas presents with their artwork — but all that had to be put on pause when she returned to St. Mark’s a second time.

Signs of a stroke

Nancy sat down to enjoy a warm casserole with her 15-year-old grandson when something strange happened: her words spilled out in a jumbled gibberish.

“I wondered how I got so aphasic,” Nancy recalled. “I have worked with hundreds of people with strokes before and I wondered how I got like that.”

Thankfully, Nancy’s grandson picked up the phone and called for help.

By the time Nancy arrived at St. Mark’s Hospital, her ability to communicate had returned. After thorough evaluation, the physicians ordered a pacemaker to restore Nancy’s normal heart rhythm, but as the trained medical staff wheeled Nancy down the corridor toward the operating room, her jumbled speech returned.

Nancy was experiencing the signs of a stroke. Her fast-acting medical team quickly administered a shot of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to dissolve any blood clots and return proper blood flow, and then took Nancy to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for close watch.

“I told the cardiac ICU nurses that I couldn’t stay — I had too much work to do to prepare my patients for Christmas — but they kept saying I was on the verge of a stroke,” Nancy said. “Each nurse was wonderful and treated me like I was the only patient there. They made me feel so special. I’ve since heard how St. Mark’s is noted for its wonderful work with stroke and heart patients. I can’t say enough good things about it. I’m very blessed to have gone there.”

Signing, laughing, painting, healing

Like in life, Nancy showed up as a positively delightful, vibrant patient at St. Mark’s Hospital. Her nurses became as enamored with her as she did with her experience at St. Mark’s.

“Laughter is very healing, so when my nurses came in, I’d joke around with them,” Nancy said. “They said they loved to come into my room because I’d be cheery and laugh. I said, ‘Great! Well then, can I go home?’”

Once her health stabilized, Nancy underwent surgery at St. Mark’s for placement of a pacemaker. The procedure took place on a Friday night, Nancy went home the next day and got in several good hours of rest and relaxation, and then she sang in a 100-voice choir at Temple Square on Sunday.

“People said, ‘I thought you were in the hospital!’ and I’d laugh and say, ‘They let me out because I need to be in the choir,’” Nancy giggled. “I love to sing. I sing to my patients all the time. For this performance sat down the whole time while I sang. It was relaxing, fun and healing.”

Nancy knows the power of fun and healing – and that those two words can fit together perfectly. Today, Nancy continues teaching her creative art therapy techniques to others. She radiates with positive energy and offers a living example of optimism and vitality.

“Oh, I do it to help people have joy and hope in their life,” Nancy humbly said. “It’s taught me to expect miracles and to think positive.”

Thank you, Nancy, for your inspirational example!