This Sunday at 4pm, "Forward", an event to benefit the Debbie Bean Recovery Fund takes place at the Franklin High School Field House. Below the line-up you can read a very special article conducted by the associated press about the event.
Already scheduled on the card:
* American Idols' Ayla Brown
* "The Ladies' Man" Vs TNAs Brother Runt
* A Special Appearance by Doink the Clown
* Top Rope Promotions Heavyweight Champion, Rick Fuller takes on "The Epic" Mike Bennet w/The Guy
* Slyk Wagner Brown takes on Brian Fury
JUST ADDED:
* Nick Steel Vs. "Heavenly" Johnny Angel
* Triple Threat Match: The Kreeper Vs. )I(raqnid Vs. "The Heat" Kris Pyro
* "Vain" Vincent Valentino Vs. Frankie Arion
* Brickhouse Baker Vs. Hillbilly Huey McGraw
PLUS:
* A now 4-team elimination match as:
Jason Blade & "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards
Vs.
Handsome Johnny & NWA-Irelands' Gary Cassidy
Vs.
Kid Mikaze & Hearthrob Antonio
Vs.
Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, Brian Milonas & former C.W. tag champion, Max Bauer
All this PLUS a huge intermission which will feature over $2,500 of merchandise from WWE, TNA, ROH and many local business which will be raffled off!
Again, this very special event hosted by Ring of Honors' Bobby Cruise happens THIS SUNDAY June 10th at the Franklin High School Fieldhouse located at 218 Oak Street in Franklin, MA.
Please note there are less than 50 floor seats still available for purchase. These can be reserved by following the instructions at
www.BeanBenefit.com - Card subject to change
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Friday, June 8 2007
Franklin woman battles back from deadly illness
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By Heather McCarron/Staff writer
Franklin, MA - Debbie Bean knows about beating the odds.
Less than six months ago, the 52-year-old Franklin resident was given just hours to live, and her family was told to prepare to say their good-byes.
But Bean, who just before Christmas became seriously ill with bacterial pneumonia that lead to septic shock, wasn’t about to give in.
Still on the road to recovery following amputations on all four of her limbs, Bean’s determination continues.
"I’m just going to take it day by day," said Bean in a telephone interview from her bed at the Kindred Parkview Rehabilitation Hospital in Rochdale last week, exhausted after a session of physical therapy. "Every day brings another story."
One of those stories is about Bean’s devoted family and friends, who have come together to organize a fundraiser to benefit her.
This Sunday, June 10, a family-friendly wrestling event is planned at 4 p.m. at the Franklin High School field house. There will be a performance by former American Idol finalist Ayla Brown, of Wrentham, and performances by wrestling stars Doink the Clown, Antonio, Spike Dudley, and Rick Fuller, among others.
"One hundred percent of the proceeds from the show are going to her," said Gino Giovanni, a long-time family friend who works for the event planner, Top Rope Promotions of Fall River. "There is not one person in the show who is getting a pay day."
Funds will help make Bean’s home accessible to her when she is released from rehab.
While Bean admits she isn’t an ardent wrestling fan — the Red Sox are more up her alley, she said — she is a fan of Giovanni and her son in-law, Dave Jackson, of Warwick, R.I., who both wrestle.
She doesn’t know quite what to make of everyone’s planning on her behalf.
"I was absolutely in awe when they first told me (about the fundraiser) and I just didn’t know what to say," said Bean, who has been cleared by her doctors to attend the event.
Talk about being in awe. Family and friends say they’re in awe of Bean for her courage and determination in the face of a devastating illness and resulting loss of both hands and feet.
"She’s said, ‘If this is my role to be a role model and to show what a person can do, then I have the strength to do it,’" said Karen Bean, one of Bean’s daughters who lives with her in Franklin.
"The amount of progress she’s made in less than a year is just incredible," added Giovanni. "I don’t think I would be like that. For this woman, it’s like another hurdle to get over."
"She’s very determined," agreed Becky Jackson, Bean’s other daughter.
It is uncertain how Bean contracted bacterial pneumonia, which can come on very suddenly, said Karen Bean. "That would be like trying to track a cold, I think," she said.
Just about a week before Christmas, Bean said, she went to bed feeling unwell.
"I woke up the next morning and didn’t want to get out of bed. It was a work day. I was usually at work at 6 o’clock," Bean said, recalling that a co-worker called her when she didn’t show up, and after learning how poorly she felt, called Karen.
Bean’s daughters said their mother was building furniture and wrapping Christmas presents on Dec. 19, and nothing seemed to be amiss, except that she felt tired — something they blamed on the holiday rush. The next day, however, Bean was fighting for her life.
Bean was taken to Milford Regional Medical Center, where doctors found that her organs were rapidly shutting down, and they couldn’t immediately explain why.
"They basically said she wasn’t going to make it through the night," said Jackson.
"They gave her 72 hours," added Karen Bean.
Bean was transferred to the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
"They knew at that point that it was pneumonia and it was bacterial. She became septic," said Jackson. Bacteria passed from the lungs into the bloodstream, causing the life-threatening sepsis.
Bean’s condition was complicated by the fact that she has no spleen — the organ was removed as the result of a previous health condition, said her daughters. While sepsis can occur in people with spleens, said Karen Bean, it’s "just not as common."
In the days that followed, as her body attempted to combat the illness and keep organs going, it drew blood from her limbs to the point that the cells in her hands and feet began to die.
"She looked like a frostbite victim," said Giovanni.
Jackson said the doctors determined amputations of Bean’s hands and feet were necessary because the tissue was toxic. Amputations were done just below her elbows and just above her ankles.
"UMass brought me back to life, because I was on my deathbed," said Bean. "I didn’t know anything until I woke up in January."
It is a testament to Bean that others were first in her mind when she finally did regain full awareness of what was going on.
"One day, when I was awake, they told me it was January. I said, ‘You mean I missed Christmas?’" said Bean. "Thankfully, I had bought all the presents and wrapped them, so at least the kids got their presents."
Bean has two grandchildren. Shawn, 11, is Jackson’s son. Marissa, 8, is Karen Bean’s daughter.
"Her family is very important to her," said Karen Bean.
In spite of the challenges she faces, her family says, Bean doesn’t let them defeat her.
"She’s amazingly cheerful and telling jokes and making everyone else laugh," said Jackson.
Dave Jackson, Bean’s son-in-law, echoes everyone else when he says Bean’s attitude is inspirational.
"With the roller coaster ride she’s been on, from almost not making it to this, she’s been very strong. She has her moments, but she keeps smiling," he said. "I don’t know if I could have been as strong as her."
But Bean sees it differently.
"I think anybody could do it if they just set their mind to it. I don’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary," said Bean, who has a couple months of rehabilitation ahead of her before she can go home, and who will eventually be fitted with prosthetics. "You just take it day by day and face each challenge on its own and try not to let it get to you, because if it gets to you, then that’s not good."
Tickets to this Sunday’s benefit for Bean are $20 for floor seats, $15 general admission, $10 for children 10 and younger. To donate to the fund, send a check or money order to: Bean Benefit, c/o Ben Franklin Bank, 58 Main St., P.O. Box 309, Franklin, MA, 02038. For more information about the benefit, visit the Web site at
www.beanbenefit.com 
