Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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12 UCW NOVEMBER 6-12, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM e sudden death last week of former U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to a rare illness had people wondering how she contracted encephalitis. North Carolina's first and only Democratic female U.S. senator died Oct. 28 at her Greensboro home. She was 66. Hagan died in her sleep after a three-year battle with encephalitis, caused by tick-borne Powassan virus. e infection causes irreversible inflamma- tion of the brain. In 2008, the former state legislator defeated Re- publican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. She lost to Repub- lican om Tillis in 2014. "Susan and I are abso- lutely heartbroken by Sen. Kay Hagan's sudden passing," Tillis said in a statement, "and we extend our condolences and prayers to her loving family and many friends. We join all North Carolinians in remembering her dedicated and distinguished record of public service to our state and nation." In late 2016, Hagan became ill. Symptoms of severe Powassan encephalitis include confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking and seizures. Her husband, Chip Hagan, said he initially thought his wife was having a stroke. Later, he said he suspected she was bitten by a tick during a anksgiving trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Two weeks later, she was rushed to a hospital. Symptoms of a tick bite may not reveal themselves for a week or more. Doctors eventually determined Hagan suf- fered from Powassan virus. It's less common than other tick-borne diseases such as Rocky Moun- tain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease. North Carolina regularly ranks as one of the states with the most reported tick-borne cases in the United States each year. Sen. Hagan had difficulty controlling her mus- cles. She was confined to a wheelchair and rarely made public appearances. e number of reported cases of people sick from Powassan virus has increased in recent years. Most cases in the United States occur in the northeast and Great Lakes region from late spring through midfall when ticks are most active. ere are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat the disease. e likelihood of infections is increasing, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2017, local and state health departments reported a record number of cases. Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other tick-related ill- nesses increased from 48,610 in 2016 to 59,349 in 2017. Reported tick-borne illnesses in the United States doubled between 2004 and 2016. Ticks become infected when they feed on groundhogs, squirrels, mice or deer that have the virus in their blood. Infected ticks then spread the virus to people and other animals by biting them. ree types of ticks spread Powassan virus and are primarily found in the eastern half of the United States: the groundhog tick, squirrel tick and black- legged or deer tick. e blacklegged tick was the culprit in Sen. Hagan's case. Blacklegged ticks are aggressive. ey often bite people. Ticks can attach to any part of the body but are often found in hard-to-see areas such as the groin, armpits and scalp. In the absence of a vaccine, prevention of Powassan virus disease depends on measures to decrease exposure to infected ticks. ese include avoiding wooded and bushy areas with high grass and using repellents to discourage tick attachment. Tick-borne illnesses can kill by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS Sen. Kay Hagan When military storylines play out in Hollywood films, TV shows and plays, they barely skim the surface of the reality of what military life is like, if the stories are even accurate. "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret," opening in Fayetteville Dec. 7, promises a real- istic and vivid image of the sacrifice that comes with serving our country. e production is quickly becoming a success, as NBC's Tom Brokaw, ABC and other media networks are all touting its magnificent and moving storytelling. "You know all of our movies are about the first in — the Navy SEALs, the Army Rangers, the Green Berets, 12 strong, the first in," said Scott Mann who wrote the play and plays the main character, Danny Patton. "But you never hear about the men and women who are last out — the ones who go back day after day, week after week, month after month, like so many of our warriors at Bragg who have 10, 12, 14 deployments. I thought, what if we could actually get veterans together and tell that story about what this long war has been like for that percentage of our population?" e story, in many ways, is biographical, although Mann says the story is also based on the experiences of service members and their families that he and his wife knew. e story takes place in the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area. e play is centered around a Green Beret team sergeant — Master Sgt. Danny Patton. He is killed in the very first scene. His desire is to rest and to go to Valhalla. But he's holding on to something he can't let go of, so he's stuck between the fire base and his living room — his personal purgatory. His best friend, Kenny Suggins, who was killed in the Pentagon on 9/11, played by Leonard Bruce, along with some other operators from Valhalla, come and take the form of people in Danny's life who made his heart pump the most blood, both good and bad, in an attempt to shake him loose to see if he can figure out what he's holding on to. Everyone involved with the production has a military background or ties to the military in some way. e minimalistic set allows for the audience to focus on the story. For Ame Livingston, the director who also plays the role of Danny's wife, Lynn Patton, the story is meaningful, especially coming from a family with a rich military history. She wanted it to be something that could be told in any setting. "When I was first working on the play, I said to Scott, 'I want to make this story so strong that we could do it in a bathroom or we could do it on Broadway," she said. In her 35 years of performing, Livingston said that "Last Out" is the most important story she's been able to tell to date. "We go in and hit your heart with a hammer and then we spend the last 20 minutes or so of the show picking the pieces back up for you, so at the end when the lights come up, people don't know what to do with their hands — you know?" said Bryan Bachman, who plays Caiden Patton and several other characters. "ey don't know what to do with themselves because they've experienced something really raw and real." Audience members, whether they are civilians or military, can see themselves in the storyline. "e re- sponse is pretty visceral," said Bruce. "A lot of people who have had similar experience are heavily impacted by the play because they see part of their story be- ing told on stage. People are seeing their lives being validated." e team is excited to bring a play to Fayetteville that shares the lives of so many people who live in the area, especially since three of the cast members were stationed at Fort Bragg and the tour manager, Kari Ellis, worked at the Fayetteville Police Department. As a trav- eling show, however, funding is an obstacle. "We need support bringing it here. It costs around $30,000 for us to travel here. We are a nonprofit," said Ellis. e show will play at the Crown on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. For more information about the play, visit http://www.lastoutplay.com/ and visit CapeFearTix. com to purchase tickets. Acclaimed "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret" comes to the Crown by JENNA SHACKELFORD JENNA SHACKELFORD, Assistant Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. NBC's Tom Brokaw talks to Scott Mann about "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret."