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and don't forget John Hord who lost half a foot and had shrapnel in his other leg due to a land mine incident in Irag. Doctors told him he would always need a cane to walk and wouldn't be up and about for a few months. heard the Coats had an open tenor spot, hopped on the bus and was on the field for the second half of tour marching their 1991 show. Guess the doctors don't realize how tough Bluecoats or drum corps people in general really are.

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During the her lunch break on 25 July 2009, the day of the Southeastern Championships in Atlanta, Bluecoats soprano Ashley Burgess, having suffered from multiple bouts of pink-eye this summer, suddenly found herself with no vision in her now painful left eye. After being rushed to the local emergency room in Stockbridge, GA, the E.R. doctor dilated and dyed her eye and found she had a corneal abrasion with a remote possibility of an ulcer. They gave her eye drops, patched her eye, gave her two percocets for the pain, prescribed more, booked an appointment with an optometrist for the following Monday, and sent her back to the rehearsal site 45 minutes before the Coats left for the Georgia Dome. After being strongly advised not to march, she showered, made adjustments to her patch, put on her uniform and marched anyway, unable to guide left without turning her head. Her disadvantage caused her to tick only one set the entire show which she quickly corrected in the middle of the move (no she was not part of the collision and spill, that happened in the back of the diamond form, her dot is in the front of that). The rest of her show was perfectly marched! The next day, the brass staff requested the patch she wore that night to be signed and dated, "Atlanta '09" by her and kept in the corps to be passed down along with other artifacts from the corps' past for years to come, and she received applause from the entire Bluecoats hornline as she took her spot in horn arc during sectionals.

Ashley embodies the gutsy passion for marching music that dwells within all drum corps members past and present. She represents us well, and I am the luckiest man on the face of the planet to be able to declare that Ash is my fiancee. I was in the Georgia Dome to watch her march that show last night. Words cannot describe how immensely proud I am of her.

Sorry to honk, but her story needed to be told.

I saw her getting the stuff (panels, uniform tops and helmets) at the end of Bluecoats show and I gave a little extra applaud for her. Now that I know the story, it makes it even more worthy of the extra applause.

:blink:

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I won't be judgmental regarding this one young lady, because I'm sure there is more to the story.

In general, to march with pain can be admirable in some circumstances. But to march with an injury that could lead to the permanent loss of sight in an eye, against medical advice, is not very smart. It's not the percentage play for leading a full and happy life.

Teenagers are subject to the peer pressure of the moment and a "suck it up" attitude when it comes to group competition. The responsible adults charged with watching these young people should know that, and make the adult decision in the person's best interests because they are immune to peer pressure.

Those of us who are old enough to have children realize the important of certain moments, and to risk the possible loss of sight for the rest of your life to "march Atlanta" just doesn't matter. Life is bigger than that.

I hope in retrospect, that is the lesson learned. The fact the person is lucky and sight is not lost doesn't turn a bad decision into a good one.

I will AGAIN say that I don't know the circumstances, so I am NOT being critical of any corps personnel, or the parents, or of the individual. I am saying IN GENERAL that based on a doctor's recommendation, and based on the fact that this potentially involves the permanent loss of vision, the importance of short term trivial events should not outweigh the potential effects of long-term consequences.

I agree. Everybody should heed their doctor's advice, especially relationship to someones eyesight. Marching with an eye injury is both risky for the performer and the rest of the corps members. She could have easily lost her balance or positioning, and harmed herself or other members of the corps. This type of reckless behavior should not be applauded. It creates an environment where the "suck it up" mentality (as wvu80 has said) triumphs over the safety of ALL members. Safety needs to be the number one concern for both the performers and staff.

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Meh. Talk to me when marches with one leg. (And I mean one leg. No prosthetics, peg legs or any of that wussie crap.)

I know you were kidding, but there was a member of Dutch Boy in the early 80's who marched on two prosthetic legs. He was in the guard, no less.

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Safety needs to be the number one concern for both the performers and staff.

If safety has to be the number one concern, then we should get rid of all weapons tosses and pass-through drill, and disband the corps when they have flu problems. :blink:

Risk management has a place in the real world and in drum corps.

Edited by corps-mudgeon
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If safety has to be the number one concern, then we should get rid of all weapons tosses and pass-through drill. :thumbdown:

Risk management has a place in the real world.

Performing a task, and performing a task while injured are two separate things.

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During the her lunch break on 25 July 2009, the day of the Southeastern Championships in Atlanta, Bluecoats soprano Ashley Burgess, having suffered from multiple bouts of pink-eye this summer, suddenly found herself with no vision in her now painful left eye. After being rushed to the local emergency room in Stockbridge, GA, the E.R. doctor dilated and dyed her eye and found she had a corneal abrasion with a remote possibility of an ulcer. They gave her eye drops, patched her eye, gave her two percocets for the pain, prescribed more, booked an appointment with an optometrist for the following Monday, and sent her back to the rehearsal site 45 minutes before the Coats left for the Georgia Dome. After being strongly advised not to march, she showered, made adjustments to her patch, put on her uniform and marched anyway, unable to guide left without turning her head. Her disadvantage caused her to tick only one set the entire show which she quickly corrected in the middle of the move (no she was not part of the collision and spill, that happened in the back of the diamond form, her dot is in the front of that). The rest of her show was perfectly marched! The next day, the brass staff requested the patch she wore that night to be signed and dated, "Atlanta '09" by her and kept in the corps to be passed down along with other artifacts from the corps' past for years to come, and she received applause from the entire Bluecoats hornline as she took her spot in horn arc during sectionals.

Ashley embodies the gutsy passion for marching music that dwells within all drum corps members past and present. She represents us well, and I am the luckiest man on the face of the planet to be able to declare that Ash is my fiancee. I was in the Georgia Dome to watch her march that show last night. Words cannot describe how immensely proud I am of her.

Sorry to honk, but her story needed to be told.

Thank you. That is why every corps performing gets a standing ovation from me. It is all about the kids and what we (the audience) do not see. The blood, sweat, and tears that goes into every show performance.

Irving

Fan of the Arts

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Back in my day I would rather not think what we would have done with that eye patch as a way of "hype"!

Hasn't a song been made about this long ago experience, Cainan ?

" The Legend of the One Eyed Sailor " ?

Edited by BRASSO
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This was also the girl who in 2006 continued the tour after having a huge tree limb fall on her during everydays. She was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, bleeding tremendously, had a concusion, multiple stiches in her head and a neck injury. The tech that went with her to the emergency room said the first words out of her mouth were can I still march!

She went home for a week and was back on tour. No one, doctors, parents anyone is going to talk her out of marching if she thinks she can. This is her fourth year marching drum corps and is also her age-out. She is passionate about drum corps and loves the experience no matter what place her corps is in!!

Holy cow--does calamity Jane come with air bags?? Anything else happen to her? I'm going to Indy and don't want to get in her way!

But really--bully for her!!! :tongue::thumbdown:

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I know you were kidding, but there was a member of Dutch Boy in the early 80's who marched on two prosthetic legs. He was in the guard, no less.

:thumbdown:

Seriously? Whoa. Apologies if that came off too irreverent. Seriously, I love this story.

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