Flourish Magazine: Music – Accordion Song by Maxine Wright-Moore

As part of each issue of Flourish Magazine, we release weekly digital content alongside our free print magazine, on the Artlift and Yes to Life blogs. This is often content we couldn’t fit into the magazine’s limited pages, or film and music, but loved and wanted to show the world.  

This issue of Flourish Magazine was on the theme of ‘Movement’, with submissions from those living with or beyond cancer received through an open call for creative responses to the theme.  

This week’s digital content is a musical offering, Accordion Song by Maxine Wright-Moore. Maxine writes about how playing music has kept her going through cancer treatment below.

Read the print magazine online for free here, and watch this space for more digital content! 

I was diagnosed with both Myelodisplasia and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia back in 2010. When I was a young girl I won a lot of awards playing my piano accordion, but as time went on, playing the accordion gave me headaches and severe nose bleeds with terrible palpitations.  

Occasionally I went into remission and was able to play with less severe palpitations, but it was always difficult and draining. 

After my bone marrow transplant in 2011 I didn’t think I would ever play again. However, as time went by, I found myself picking up the instrument.  

This clip is from about a year ago. I am still playing, and last week I performed with the accordion in a play at our local theatre.