CORONAVIRUS: Boston Pilgrim Hospital ICU doctor’s song to ‘inspire’ and ‘empower’

A doctor battling Covid-19 on the intensive care unit at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital has released a song to ‘inspire’ and ‘empower’ people to stay at home during the pandemic.
United (Covid-19 Song) singer TeeRare, also a doctor on the intensive care unit at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.United (Covid-19 Song) singer TeeRare, also a doctor on the intensive care unit at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.
United (Covid-19 Song) singer TeeRare, also a doctor on the intensive care unit at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.

Ter-Er Kusu-Orkar, 25, of Boston, wrote the track in response to the ‘helplessness’ he sensed among the UK as the Government introduced strict social distancing measures.

“I noticed the negativity and panic that the lockdown was bringing to the nation,” he said. “I wanted to inspire and empower people to stay at home.”

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“I wrote the lyrics and composed the skeleton of the song with my guitar,” he continued. “I then produced the beat using software I have and then also recorded the song in my home studio and mastered it.

“This process took three to four days and involved me working later after work, on my lunch breaks, and in the early morning.

“I then recorded the music video the day after it was finished. I did all of this because I really felt as though this song could make a difference, a positive one and that is what drives me.”

Titled United (Covid-19 Song), the song was posted online last Wednesday, April 1. The music video features images of healthcare staff calling for people to stay at home during the outbreak.

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“I thought incorporating the hashtags and videos from NHS staff all around the country and world would be a great way to show people that by staying at home they are really doing their bit, that they should feel a sense of purpose in doing this,” he said.

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Ter-Er has been told the track has received airplay on BBC Radio One’s Breakfast Show.

“Unfortunately, I missed it, but was informed by a few of my colleagues!” he said.

Ter-Er records under the name TeeRare and works in pop, R&B, and rap.

He writes, produces, and plays guitar, piano, and drums.

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“Music has never just been a hobby, it is my passion,” he said. “I have always made music to bring people up, make them feel better about themselves.

“I would love to somehow balance medicine and music together as a career one day. Everything is impossible until someone does it. So hopefully I can pave the way for medics to do these kinds of things and heal others in a different way.”

As well as facing the challenge of Covid-19 at work, Ter-Er has seen the lockdown disrupt his life away from the hospital.

He is currently unable to see his fiancée (Beccy Ballantine – ‘the love of my life’, he says) and their wedding, due to take place later this month, has had to be cancelled.

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“She lives in Nottingham so I can’t see her at the moment as I am isolating myself from her,” he said. “We haven’t moved in together as of yet as we wanted to be married first.”

He said the hospital ws ‘getting a lot busier’ and there were challenges in relation to personal protective equipment, but added: “Doctors are in high spirits and are continuing to fight.”

* You can listen to the song and watch the music video on YouTube here and find him on Facebook here, Twitter here, and Instagram here.

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