Nebraska pediatric cancer survivor’s storybook put to music

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The setting of 7-year-old Keely Holcomb’s reality is far different than her imagination.

After being diagnosed with leukemia at three, Keely spent most of her young life in the hospital. When she sat down to write and illustrate a storybook, it wasn’t about saving herself; it was about saving others.

It’s called, “The Enchanted Amazon,” set in a magical forest.

“I really like animals so this story basically is saving animals,” she said.

Her character does it alongside her favorite people: “Mom, Kira, Me, Sadie, Colt, Kieser, Keeton, Dad.”

Keely recalls how cancer treatment took so much out of her.

“I couldn’t walk or anything because my legs hurt really bad,” she said.

In her storybook, she can do amazing things, like save animals from trees and lift rocks much larger than her whole family combined.

“The Enchanted Amazon” runs parallel to Keely’s own life of overcoming challenges. Like Keely, Dmitrii Shaposhnikov, a high school composer, has overcome a major obstacle of his own.

“I think blind people use their ears more to hear what’s going on,” said Dmitrii. “Music is like a motor. It adds power to the story.”

Dmitrii was asked by the Sing Me a Story Foundation to compose music for Keely’s book. Dmitrii was given an audio recording of the book to help take it to another level.

“Magical Amazon rainforest to me feel like major, in the major key,” he explained. “I had a chord that was out of key because it really expresses that boom feeling.”

Keely’s character rescues animal after animal, from cheetahs to beavers, with no hint that she’ll ever stop helping others.

Reading an excerpt, “‘Here we go again!’” Keely said.

Pairing music to “The Enchanted Amazon,” isn’t the end of Keely and Dmitrii’s story. The art they created was then performed by the Papillion-La Vista High School Band and narrated by a student.

The performance was a reminder that their lives are connected by much more than the challenges they overcame, but rather, the places they’ll go.

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