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Sunday, July 22, 2007

Pipestem and Celebration


Where to begin? Last year? Last September? Last month? Last month might be the best place.

It started with an email. When are you performing at Pipestem Resort? I checked my schedule: July 20th, I emailed back.

Last year my sister Maggie and her husband Roger surprised me by arriving at Pipestem just in time for my storytelling performance. They were on vacation and made a 150-mile detour to be there. We had a great time--Maggie lives in eastern Maryland and we don't get to see each other very often.

In September, disaster struck. Roger was badly burned in an explosion, a freak accident that left him with severe burns over 67% of his body. Survival, given the location and severity of the burns, was unlikely.

It was a tough year, but they made it through 18 surgeries, numerous skin grafts and infections and setbacks. This year our meeting at Pipestem was a planned celebration. Roger faces more surgery of the plastic variety, more skin grafts and more therapy in the coming months. But the outlook is 100% better than it was last September.

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