Nearly 1000 people attended the Craig Hospital PUSH event at the Downtown Denver Sheraton Hotel on March 3, 2011. It was an event filled with emotion, inspiration, laughter and tears.
John and Martha Gart were the co-chairs of the event. John Gart spoke of his father, who had been a patient at Craig. His family has supported Craig financially and personally for many years.
Gregg Moss, with 9News, was the emcee. He donated a lunch at Racine's for a lucky bidder, along with two friends. Unfortunately, I was outbid on lunch with Gregg!
Don Digby was the recipient of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Inspiration Award. Don was injured while riding an ATV, and has made a remarkable recovery from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He regularly visits the hospital after hours to meet patients and encourage them. He offers a visible demonstration of what life can offer after catastrophic injury.
Richard (Dick Graff) and his wife, Maureen were featured in the first video. His message was, "this can happen to anybody.' A fall on steps in Downtown Denver one night after a business meeting resulted in a traumatic brain injury. He is closer to his family, more in-tuned to life around him, an enjoys every day - all positive effects from his injury. "My life is better because of what happened to me." Kenny Parks, who was his rehab tech at Craig, and made a significant difference in his recovery sang "Celebrate" to set the tone for the evening.
Doug Smith, a world-renowned piano player West Texas was featured in the second video. I had the pleasure of traveling to Texas in November to create the film with Jake Manley and Greg Hydle. We visited his studio and his home; we met his family and his sound engineer, Alan Crossland. Alan took us to the restaurant in Acuff, Texas, where we stuffed ourselves with real southern fried chicken strips and all of the trimmings. We were treated to West Texas hospitality every day.
Although Doug has never had a piano lesson, nor does he read or write music, he has become the most celebrated, inspirational piano player in West Texas. Doug's family thought they'd left the radio on one day, when they heard music coming from a bedroom in the house. They discovered Doug, at the age of 2, playing a little organ - tunes, chords, hymns, nursery rhymes, tunes from the radio - a whole repertoire of music. He still can't explain it. "All I can say, is it must have come from God, there's no other explanation." Doug became a patient at Craig after he rolled his pick-up truck late one night on his way home from the studio. He is planning the release of his 10th CD, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the PUSH event. www.dougsmith.com
After Doug's film was shown at the event, a curtain opened behind the stage to reveal Doug rolling up to a baby grand piano in his wheelchair. Before he played there was a standing ovation. He played the tune with which he has ended every single concert and perfomance of his life, Amazing Grace. Another standing ovation followed.
The piano, which he signed, was just one of the items auctioned during the live auction. This was followed by a paddle auction to generate money for patient assistance at Craig. We were hoping to raise $75K during the paddle auction, but over $188K was raised. The entire event brought in nearly a million dollars.
We will be releasing the Doug Smith video on the Craig website in a few weeks. www.craighospital.org Stay tuned.
