Spare Change: Rooting for Carrigan Nelson as her compelling story takes another turn
Oddznendz gathered while checking on any Chinese balloon debris.
• If we lived to 100, most of us would never face the amount of troubles Carrigan Nelson has survived in her short life.
She’s undergone three surgeries connected to a rare bone disease. That includes the amputation of a chunk of her left leg. Carrigan faces a fourth surgery after doctors found a tumor near her heart.
More? Her father Paul fell off the roof of their Portsmouth home while making repairs in October. Like his daughter, who sometimes uses a wheelchair, he’s been using one of late.
And Team Carrigan has turned into Team Nelson.
Oh, and Carrigan just turned 22 this week.
Not that there have been no high points. Carrigan is a gifted singer. You may have heard her duet with Jimmy Winters years ago. As a cancer patient, she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a full Fenway Park as part of the annual Jimmy Fund benefit.
In December, she dazzled the crowd at Singing for Shelter, the annual concert produced by Mark and Anne Gorman to make money for local homeless shelters. Joining Carrigan were musicians Steven Rodrigues and Joe Potenza.
And now area police and fire departments are rallying to support the vivacious former pageant queen with electronic signs outside their buildings.
A sign of support across RI as Carrigan Nelson faces new cancer battle
Everything helps. I don’t think I’ve ever met Carrigan, but my wife, Julie Bisbano, was her English teacher at Portsmouth High School. And I’ve known her aunt, Bonnie Lybarger, for a good 30 years.
Her story is compelling. And the public response is the kind of thing Aquidneck Islanders do well.
• What is the meaning of life? Asking for a friend.
• I sat in the crowd at a pro wrestling event and a State of the Union address broke out.
•R.I.P.: Fran Donnelly.
When I met Fran about 40 years ago, he was the local District Court clerk. But he was better known as a local singer/guitarist with Sky Bird and other groups.
Fran was a natural entertainer, a friendly guy with a keen sense of what audiences liked. Good-natured, he never seemed to mind when someone dubbed him “Fran Diamond.”
• I’m glad I grew up pre-cellphone. You’ve probably heard by now about the Portsmouth High hockey players shown on Snapchat drinking shots in a West Warwick locker room after beating West Warwick/Exeter-West Greenwich last Friday.
Granted, it’s generally hard to find a more immature group than teenage boys. I know. I was one. Though it’s been a while.
Portsmouth High School hockey:Video shows Portsmouth boys hockey players drinking in locker room after West Warwick win
High school kids drinking is hardly “Stop the presses!” stuff. But these days every dumb behavior must be posted to social media or it didn’t really happen.
Talk about handing over a smoking gun.
• I never recommend books unless I’ve read them. But I’m looking forward to Tracy Kidder’s “Rough Sleepers.”Kidder profiles Dr. Jim O’Connell, who grew up in Newport, and his life commitment to treating Boston’s homeless.Kidder, who wrote gems like “Among Schoolchildren” and “Mountains Beyond Mountains” is a consummate reporter.
O’Connell is a consummate physician who practices medicine at the street level.
• Natasha Lyonne has been good for years. And she’s especially strong on “Poker Face,” on which I’m hooked.
• R.I.P.: Chris Stedford
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Spare Change: Rooting for Carrigan Nelson is easy
