A Harp, A Prayer, and a Promise of Hope
On certain Tuesdays at Nebraska Cancer Specialists (NCS), the infusion suite carries a sound that feels different from the usual hum and quiet conversation. It’s soft, familiar, and gentle enough to steady a breath.
It’s Connie’s harp. 
For nearly a decade, Connie and Bob Williams of Mead, Nebraska have wheeled a pedal harp through NCS clinic doors, settling into the infusion suite, and letting music do what words often cannot.
Many patients recline in their infusion chairs, and close their eyes. Some hum along. Some whisper, “That’s my favorite.” A few simply rest more peacefully than they did before she arrived.
But Connie’s journey with the harp didn’t begin in a music hall. It began in a nursing workshop.
A Second Calling After Nursing
Twenty years ago, just before retiring from her nursing career, Connie attended one final continuing education workshop. The topic: the physical and emotional benefits of harp music.
“They talked about how it can slow heart rate, lower stress, even help with pain,” Connie remembers. “I sat there thinking, This is my next chapter. I felt like God was nudging me. This is something I’m supposed to do for people.”
There was just one problem. She lived in rural Nebraska on a farm near Mead. No harp. No teacher.
It took years to find both. Eventually, Connie connected with the harpist from the Omaha Symphony and began lessons. What started as curiosity turned into commitment. Group performances with the Omaha Harp Society followed, including Christmas music at Children’s Hospital, and slowly, Connie found her place.
Not weddings, not concerts.
Quiet and healing spaces.
Music That Meets People Where They Are
When Connie plays for the patients and visitors at NCS, her goal isn’t to impress. It’s to comfort.
She weaves together gentle melodies from the 1960s, Moon River and Elvis favorites, with hymns like Amazing Grace and the beautiful Hallelujah. Some pieces are wordless, chosen simply for their calming rhythm.
“I see people with their eyes closed,” she says. “Sometimes their lips are moving and they’re singing along. And when I’m leaving, they’ll stop me and say how much it helped. That’s when I know it’s worth it.”
One December afternoon, after playing Christmas music, a nurse brought Connie to a patient who was in tears.
“She said it was the most beautiful thing she’d heard,” Connie recalls softly. “She made me cry.”
Moments like that are why she keeps coming back – even when arthritis in her hands makes playing harder than it once was.
“As long as I feel like I’m doing a good enough job, I’ll keep going,” she says.
The Man Who Carries the Harp
Behind all of Connie’s harp performances is her husband, Bob.
The pedal harp Connie now plays is large, rich in sound, and too heavy for her to manage alone. Bob lifts, loads, steadies, and helps tune. They even chose vehicles over the years based on whether the harp would fit. (Yes, they brought a tape measure to the dealership.)
They make a day of it: one clinic, lunch together, then another location. A routine built on music, partnership, and prayer.
Before each visit, they pray that the day will bless someone.
When the Music Became Personal
Last fall, their world shifted when their visits to NCS became more personal. Bob was diagnosed with melanoma that had grown deeper than expected. Surgery was followed by radiation received closer to home, at Methodist Fremont Health, and now immunotherapy treatments continue in Omaha with NCS Medical Oncologist Dr. Yungpo Bernard Su.
Connie has spent years playing for patients in infusion chairs. Now Bob sits in one.
“It hits closer to home,” Connie admits. “We’ve always prayed before going in, but now it feels even more personal.”
Bob, steady and matter of fact, hasn’t lost his perspective.
“I’ve had great doctors. I feel good. I still play pickleball,” he says with a smile. “I just look at the next appointment and take it as it comes.”
He’s seen the other side of the music now. Not just as the husband helping with a harp, but as a patient receiving care.
“You can see it in people’s faces,” he says. “They relax. They close their eyes. You know it means something to them.”
Healing Beyond Medicine
Medicine treats the body. Connie’s harp tends to something just as important.
Music brings memories. Familiar songs can carry people back to safer, happier moments. A hymn can steady fear. A melody can soften a long afternoon of treatment.
“It’s just a few minutes of peace,” she says.
For Bob and Connie, that peace is rooted in faith. It shapes how they face cancer, aging, and uncertainty, together.
“We pray every morning,” Bob says. “We know we’re not alone.”
Still Playing, Still Hoping
These days, for this couple, life is changing, as it always does. But one thing hasn’t.
As long as Connie’s hands allow, and Bob can help lift the harp, the music will continue.
Every gentle note is an offering. Every Tuesday, a small promise. You’re not alone. Take a breath and let the music carry you for a while. KH
About Nebraska Cancer Specialists
Nebraska Cancer Specialists (NCS) is a full-service, independent, physician-led cancer practice providing comprehensive care for individuals with cancer and blood-related conditions. With 15 convenient locations across Nebraska and into Iowa, NCS collaborates closely with hospitals and health systems throughout the region to ensure patients receive seamless, high-quality care close to home.
NCS is committed to a patient-centered approach while maintaining access to advanced treatments, clinical research trials, and a full range of supportive services designed to care for the whole person. The NCS team includes 25 physicians, 30 non-physician providers, and nearly 400 oncology-trained employees dedicated to delivering compassionate, expert care at every stage of the cancer journey.
For more information about Nebraska Cancer Specialists, visit NebraskaCancer.com.
