Healed: Music, Medicine and Life with MS

Renowned cornet virtuoso Jim Klages was at the height of his career when he was diagnosed with MS.

Jim Klages achieved his dream as soloist for the elite "President's Own" U.S. Marine Band in Washington D.C.  But when the happily married family man noticed a strange tingling in his arm and nearly dropped his cornet, everything began to change.  The diagnosis: multiple sclerosis. Through verite and archival footage, interviews, and music recordings, Healed: Music, Medicine and Life with MS, airing Saturday, July 4, 2020 at 11 p.m. on WXXI-TV, illuminates the ways in which the creative spirit adapts not only to survive, but to thrive.

What followed after Jim's diagnosis was a series of hardships that would test even the most indomitable spirit - the end of a career, a marriage stressed to the breaking point, and the loss of his home and financial security.  As Jim's health continued to deteriorate, he was faced with his ultimate challenge: finding his way back to the art that had once sustained him.  Jim persevered, determined to heal himself through composing and teaching. Featuring Wynton Marsalis, "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band, and research experts from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Southern California. Healed takes viewers into one artist's world of infirmity, hope and determination.

This special is part of Move to Include, a partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation designed to promote inclusion for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. This Move to Include model expands nationally this year to five additional communities with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. To learn more about the national efforts, visit movetoinclude.us.