American Idol

Steve and I were watching American Idol tonight, and the show always makes us think of Sammy. Sammy was born in 2003 during the second season of American Idol. He spent nearly four months in the neonatal ICU where there were no TVs; however, he eventually transferred to the pediatric ICU where he had a private room and his own TV. When we turned on the TV for that first time, American Idol was on.

We began playing music for Sammy while he was in the NICU, and it was obvious that he loved music very much. Each year, we would watch American Idol with him, and he would communicate his appreciation or dislike of a performer in his own unique way. If he disliked the performance, he had seizures. If he enjoyed the performance, no seizures. During the audition rounds when there were so many awful singers, we had to either change the channel or press “Mute” on the remote; otherwise, it would be “seizure-mania”.

In case you were curious, some of Sammy’s favorites over the years have been Carrie Underwood, Kelly Pickler, Melinda Doolittle, and Bucky Covington. This year, I have no idea who Sammy would have liked. Maybe Brooke?