The Kindness of Strangers

My accident was scary. Not just for me, but for everyone who was there that night. At the end of the show, one of the artists burst into tears. Another seemed shaken for days afterward and cut some of the trickier moves out of her act. Another didn't even want to talk about it. It was just too horrible.

But out of all that, came some incredible and unexpected acts of kindness. As soon as the next morning, the office was already fielding calls about how I was doing. They received a very angry e-mail saying that it was nothing short of disgraceful that the show kept going after I fell, that they should be ashamed, and that the writers left at intermission in protest. I appreciate the gesture, but I agree that the show must go on.

But most touching of all is that complete strangers started sending me cards wishing me well and a speedy recovery. I even got a little plant with a Get Well Soon balloon.

And the night of the finale, I had two people come up to me and explain that they were in the audience in Zurich the night I fell. They wanted to know how I was doing and were so happy to see that I was back on stage.

What happened was terrible, but there were some really beautiful moments that spiraled out of it. Most of all, the night I came back...