I didn't know Zack very well until IT happened. I knew his brother as a respected business owner in Dayton, I had heard about Zack's musical abilities and we had friends in common, but Zack and I were, at best, acquaintances.
Zack was in Louisville and he was attacked. From what I understood, he was in the hospital barely hanging on to his life. And his friends were here in Dayton. I imagined him in that cold room in a strange city, bleeding from his brain and I decided to visit.
I had already planned to be in Louisville for a storytelling event, so instead of leaving Dayton in the afternoon for the evening show, I left in the morning and I drove to the hospital to see this young man that I barely knew.
He looked terrible. He had a tube coming out of his head. He was so drugged that he was sleeping when I walked it, unaware of the noise. I sat silently for awhile, unaware of what to do. I closed my eyes and sent well wishes his way. When he woke for a moment, he didn’t recognize me. And why would he? I was practically a stranger and he had fractured his skull! And so I gave him a small gift bag and asked if he minded if I sat with him for a little while.
I don’t think that we spoke much before I left. I wished him well and I meant it.
And I went to the Moth Story Slam and drove home.
After Zack began his recovery, we had a chance to talk, for real. He shared stories, I shared stories. We found that we had a lot in common.
Today, I am proud to call Zack Sliver a friend. His story of survival is vulnerable and unbelievable. He has transformed his own personal tragedy into triumph. His story is still being written and he is still recovering.
Maybe we all are. Maybe we are all still recovering.
Come out and hear Zack’s survival story at LORE Mainstage: I SURVIVED on August 15, 2019 at 7PM at 40 N Main St, Dayton OH.
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