Saint Bernadette

We were having a great time. An epic time. One of those perfect days that happens so rarely in life. Two weeks ago at Safe to Swim Weekend in Danbury, we took part in and enjoyed a DIY music festival that was so well organized and so well populated with great talent that one band after another completely slayed us with their songs, performances and energy. Not even the scorching heat could interfere with our fun and good times.

As the day turned to night, we continued to enjoy the excellent lineup curated by Danbury’s master impresario, Anthony Yacobellis of Sub Rosa, and eventually moved on from the downtown City Center location to the after party at the mother of all rock dive bars, Cousin Larry’s.

The Field Recordings, a great band we met recently through the battle of the bands competition at Hamden’s The Space, took the stage at 12:10. I really liked them at The Space and was excited to see them again and they did not disappoint. They were, as we say in business, KILLING it. The crowd was in the palm of their hand, singing along at the direction of lead singer, Dan Gallo. It seemed as though nothing could interfere with our perfect day.

Until something did. As Dan took a few steps back from the mic, rocking at full throttle, he suddenly and violently fell to the floor, grabbing his leg and rocking back and forth in what was obviously agony. The first thing he said was “My knee!!!” The drummer, Jared, jumped up from his seat and pulled the cord from his guitar, which was feeding back loudly.

The bass player, Noel, and some others from the audience and bar staff formed a circle around him. Numerous cell phones were pulled from pockets to call for help. We stood around helpless, feeling terribly, trying to adjust to a feeling of tragedy after feeling so wonderfully for so long.

What really solidified our horrible feeling and what has stayed with me in these two weeks following this rather strange event is this: the second thing that Dan yelled out, the second thing that came to his mind while lying there, writing in pain, was “I don’t have health insurance!”

I can’t forget the look on his friends’ faces, trying to figure out how to respond to this inconvenient truth that they could not contradict nor gloss over and still offer some comfort to their injured friend. I remember somebody saying “Don’t worry about that right now,” and Dan continuing to rock back and forth holding his knee with one hand and his forehead in the other while various other people looked around for water, something to use for a stretcher, or anything else that seemed like it could be helpful.

It pains Saint Bernadette to think that young, otherwise healthy people should be living their lives completely at risk. An unexpected injury or illness carries more than just its inherent dangers, it also threatens the person’s financial health. Regardless of what effective medical care an uninsured person receives, he still might end up with a life-altering consequence – a mountain of health care related debt.

Dan was taken out of Cousin Larry’s in an ambulance and the word we received later after a well-placed set from the Hat City Ramblers, was that he dislocated his knee. Sounds bad but doesn’t seem to be as bad as a torn ACL or broken leg or any of the other possibilities thrown out. I’m hoping since I haven’t seen a bunch of announcements on the band’s myspace regarding a benefit concert, that whatever medical care Dan received he was somehow able to take care of. To think that an artist’s career would be derailed by an injury like this due of lack of health insurance is unfortunate, unacceptable and un-American.

Feel better, Dan.

Saint B