Dean Update October 27

Hi friends and family-

Well, this is a “Dean update” with an entirely different tone… hooray!

Dean is still in recovery mode, so no, the healing process isn’t all over and done with, but things are getting better and better. He has more energy and more strength – it is amazing to see. Eating is still a challenge, but we are slowly figuring out more options to add to his diet. The day when he can sit down and eat a big piece of cheese (Dean is a HUGE cheese fan) is a ways off … but I have no doubt that it will one day come to pass.

In just a few weeks, Dean will have his second round of vaccinations (these are repeats of the vaccinations that we all receive in our first few years of life- when Dean’s original bone marrow was wiped out during the preparation for the bone marrow transplant, he lost all of the immunity he had gained from those childhood vaccinations. So now he needs to start from scratch.). This will also be a chance to check in with Dean’s oncologist- we have not seen him in many weeks, which is a great thing to be able to say.

And…

Dean is beginning to perform!

He is taking it slowly, trying not to add too much all at once.

If you want to see all of the live performances he has scheduled so far, you can visit his website (www.deanmagraw.com). There are some lovely, lovely concerts being planned.

In this email I want to mention one very cool event that is coming right up…

Just before Dean went into the hospital to begin the bone marrow transplant process, he and tabla player Marcus Wise finished a new CD. They were literally scheduling recording sessions in between pre-transplant chemotherapy sessions.

The CD, called “How the Light Gets In,” is extraordinary, and in February (February 5, 2011- go ahead and mark your calendar now…), Dean and Marcus will be performing a CD release concert at the Cedar Cultural Center.

But to wait until February to celebrate this CD is just not ok, so the folks at Red House Records are throwing a CD Launch Party on November 9!!!

This launch party is happening at the Artist’s Quarter in downtown St. Paul. Admission is free, and there will be free food, good company, drinks to buy, and advance copies of the CD available for purchase (details at the end of this post).

Dean and Marcus will both be there.

Essentially, this is a chance to gather together to celebrate two amazing musicians and their brand-new CD, eat a bunch of good food, buy a friend a drink, and make a great big toast to the joy and miracle of being alive, right now, on this day.

I will most certainly be there… I hope you will be, too.

Much love,

Megan Flood

CD Launch Party, hosted by Red House Records

• Tuesday, November 9 - 7:30 PM
• Artist’s Quarter - 408 St. Peter Street, St. Paul
• 651-292-1359
• Free!