She longed for the weekends, for the comfort of her couch, where she felt safe. Wednesday was the happiest that Chardon shooting survivor Nick Walczak has been since the Feb. 27 incident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He hesitates, looks around the McDonald's before continuing. Holly Walczak spoke at a news conference along with the families of Hewlin and Parmertor and mentioned the guilt she feels since her son survived the attack. LOVE YOUR PET. "That's about right," he says. At the hospital, it was confirmed that he was paralyzed from the nipples down but his spinal cord was still intact. and they all raise their hands. He and Nate met with both Ohio senators, including my husband, Sen. Sherrod Brown. "He's remarkable. Her son Nick Walczak was shot four times and was paralyzed. Mariah Moore, a therapist at a local mental-health facility who was a senior at Chardon during the shooting, told me that she recently had to ask a young patient to stop blowing up a balloon during a group counseling session. "People go though rough experiences. The surgeon said they're cautiously optimistic.". Assistant Coach Baseball. Instead, his principal asked if he wanted a job. Joe tried to persuade her to get up, go for a walk, go golfing, but the world beyond the couch was too scary. His eyes were a dead stare, and his gun pointed at her. It's supposed to be violent. Walczak's mother Holly Walczak told a news conference that she believes her son was shot four times: twice in the neck, through the arm and in the back. "This dog is absolutely amazing," Nick says. He starts by saying, "My mother means well." Trending
So his mother became a saving grace. She could take her nursing job anywhere. Teacher Joseph Ricci had just started lecturing to his mathematics class when he heard the shots. Nick Walczak: He said, as he's running by me, he said "Hang tight. The longer Danny stayed on, the more his boss taught him: the art and speed of drywall, but also other things, like patience and kindness. "I thought it'd be great to have a dog who was here just for me.". Anybody who is involved in a school shooting, immediately we have to grow up, he recounted in a recently released PSA for the Sandy Hook Promise. "Coach Hall saved my life," Nick says. Trauma plays out differently for people. It was only this past February, Brandon told me, on the sixth anniversary of the shooting, that he could experience what he described as normal sadness for the first time. It was early May the first time I visited, and it had just snowed again. He is one of Nick's best friends, and to this day refers to himself as a "dick" for jumping over his friend. Walczak, 17, was one of five high school students shot in a rampage at Chardon High School on Monday by accused shooter T.J. Lane. {3} The circumstances of the shooting are generally undisputed. She has since built a powerful advocacy group. For years, Casie told me, she denied needing help. Lane killed Demetrius Hewlin, 16; Russell King Jr., 17; and Daniel Parmertor, 16. It isnt quite the balance Jim Adams said clinicians strive for, the shrinking of pain and the lengthening of good periods. Media. His boss also talked about Jesus. Just the other day, a student pulled out what looked to be a pocket knife, and it terrified her, until he opened it up to reveal that it was just a comb. Theres one high school in Chardon, a town of about five thousand people deep in northeast Ohio's snow belt. Nate Mueller and Joy Rickers were wounded, as was Nick Walczak, who is paralyzed from the waist down, according to Reuters. It came radiating off her like the waves of heat that shimmer up from a sunbaked airstrip. He pauses and smiles for no apparent reason. Hes a member. Others say no." Over the course of several months, I talked to many people in Chardon. She was angry at people who offered their thoughts and prayers instead of working to change things. Pulled the corner right off.". Kids hear things. If Lane had smiled at him in that cafeteria before he started shooting, Nick is sure he would have known something was up. I want to find him, Danny thought, and kill him. He reaches for another french fry, and changes the subject sort of. Her boyfriend worried about her. 213 Following. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}SCOTUS Ponders Whether to Dub Loans Unforgiven, Effort to Recall N.O. Then-Lake County Common Pleas Judge Joe. Behind him was the school's assistant football coach, Frank Hall, who'd been in the cafeteria that morning and had chased the shooter out. "We all did the best we could.". " He hunches up his shoulders, closes his eyes and imitates snuggling with the dog. "First, I want people to know how cool my friends have been, how I haven't lost a good friend out of this. 4 Kids' 48th placement. As is often the case with Nick and his new life, there's a caveat to those plans. As Lane was brought into the courtroom of Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fuhry, he came within feet of Walczak now in a wheelchair after being paralyzed from "How are you going to live on your own?" He is paralyzed from the waist down. And the community has been great. ), "It was Christmastime 2012," Robins says. "It's amazing.". The dogs rotate among the prisoners every few weeks to prevent attachments. Because I know what theyre in for now.. What a little punk.". And Danny cried again, tears of gratitude and joy. Danny obsessed over the question of why. "Make sure you mention that.". In this month's feature, we dig in to the backstory, the process and the meaning behind the big reveal. Not now. If I can move around the entire bed, I can change my sheets. After she left, he hated himself for that, too. Nick knew if he wanted to stay alive, he had to get out of that room. They set a date and bought the quaint old house. This time, when asked again what people might not know about him, Nick doesn't make any jokes. If You Go. On February 27, 2012, the shooting at Chardon High School shattered Nick Walczak's life and left him paralyzed. Gratitude for the people who saved him, the people who came into his life just when he needed them, and, most of all, for his boss. EMDR success stories passed like good gossip in the small town. He is quite certain that, without this job, he wouldnt be here at all. A stampede of students ran to the right, but Nick turned left. Pull over for a second. They have to give the dogs away.". Lane. He bought an off-road vehicle to take himself rambling with friends in the hills of West Virginia, where he feels happy and free. He hadn't meant to be in Chardon six years later, living in the same house, teaching at the same school. "Holly and I were talking about what she could get Nick for Christmas. When she woke up from night terrors, Rain soothed her by licking her face. Prosecutors said Lane brought a. And in the middle, a big one, built like an ox. You can watch our entire 6 p.m. newscast from that day in the player below, which was anchored by 3News' Russ Mitchell outside of Chardon High School as details. We do think that mental health is a major issue. Did Rupert Murdoch Blow Up Fox News's Defense? I saw him flick us off," Nick recalls. It was only later, after his life fell apart, that he realized the trauma belonged not only to the kids but to him, too. "My friends always did it for me.". Fetchik and others who were there that day now advocate in Columbus for changes to safety measures and policies, but he admits things arent moving as quickly as theyd like. Thanks to the Chardon Healing Fund, Nick got Subscribe Now 706. She was proud that her son would be able to save lives with his own, as he had wanted. Tough talk, but she can't hide her affection for the men. Casie talked about her longtime boyfriend, whom she met during a high school theater production when they were both fifteen. He told me hed been giving a lot of thought to how he could help all of the other people who will survive school shootings across America this year, and next year, and in the years that follow. Go tell your parents. I have a still image of a blank face and a gun.". Danny was friends with all of the boys at that cafeteria table, but he and Russell King were especially close, like brothers. His simple gesture reaching toward his feet with both hands brings Turner, his service dog, to his feet. I love this dog.". "Funny how the mind does that. Two small ones on the sides. She ran toward the cafeteria. In the near future, it might be the thing that determines the. Rain had already helped immensely in the two weeks shed had her, Casie told me. He looks down at Turner, who is next to the left wheel of his chair. We finished our tea. "Sometimes I can feel it with sinus trouble," he says. A lawsuit has been filed by the families of three students killed and one paralyzed in the shooting at Chardon High School in 2012, according to court documents. With the afternoon sun dappling the walls of his family's home, Nick Walczak, 27, is shown next, somberly stating the song's second line: "You think I'm funny when I tell the punchline wrong." Shortly after, Mia Page-Tretta, 17, sings her line as she begins to play a slow, subdued rendition of "Teenage Dream" on the piano. Hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil in Chardon, a small community of several thousand located around 30 miles east of Cleveland, on Tuesday . One evening I met CoCo and her daughter, Casie, at an outdoor bar. Thanks.. He felt an overwhelming desire to put down roots. Lately, Danny has noticed that his bad days are worse, but his good days are better. Tweets & replies. He looks down at Turner, who again raises his golden head to return Nick's gaze. "By the time I was on the stretcher, I knew: There goes my legs," he says. "I have stretch marks on my biceps, they're so big," he says, pointing to my notebook. Quick Take: The February 2012 Chardon High School shooting left Nick Walczak paralyzed. "We have to do something about mental health issues, safety in schools and address the issue of violent video games," Joyce says. It's a little too traumatic for him," she said. Instead, he finds peace in his daily routine: the work, which often keeps him too busy to think, and his downtime. "Really," he says, reaching down to lift his right foot. Nick Walczak, a student who was left paralyzed from the shooting, is also a plaintiff in the suit, which was filed in Lake County Common Pleas Court. "This jokester kid that didn't take school seriously is now a lobbyist for gun control. The men are training three golden retrievers, two standard poodles and one goldendoodle. It was that moment when you think you're going to slide your knee up and get on your feet. "The truth is that gun violence is in everybody's backyard across the nation," Fuentes said. I said, 'Really, dude? I want somebody I can help, the friend had said to Andy. But it happened sooner than theyd expected, in part because they had a neighbor who liked to do target practice in his backyard. The shooter is in prison for life. He is twenty-three years old. My favorite part is when you ask, 'Who helped train this dog?' Published on September 13, 2021. Credit: Sandy Hook Promise. "We've got big plans.". He won't say whether he would have voted for the legislation, which never made it to the House floor. But its not easy. "It's not about me. ". One morning in late May, I met Brandon Lichtinger at his beautiful old fixer-upper of a house. "You'll see when you meet them," she says. He has a few guns and is thinking about getting a pistol and a concealed-carry license, just in case hes in a Walmart someday and someone comes in with a weapon and a wish to kill. My rough experience was just early.". Nick was left paralyzed. In the living room, Joe said he understood that healing from trauma takes time. ". Chardon school shooting survivor Nick Walczak tell his story publicly for the first time 90,720 views Jul 17, 2014 563 Dislike Share Rover's Morning Glory 44.7K subscribers Nick Walczak was. The award comes a few weeks after Alex Jones defamation trial verdict, . It's not a weakness to seek help.". The former principal of Columbine High School reached out to Fetchik in the days after the shooting. Maybe it bothered him to see what he had done.". Nick Walczak's went into spinal shock after the shooting, but doctor's hope he will be able to walk again. Walczak's brother previously told ABC News that his brother had no feeling below his chest. If he left, who was to say he wouldnt bring that badness with him? Once, during a fight just before leaving for yet another wedding, Brandon was in such despair that he grabbed a plastic Santa lawn ornament and smashed it on his head. Another wounded student, Joy Rickers, has been released from the hospital. Jen sat by Nick's head and tended to him, and she was so absorbed that it was some time before she thought to look up, where she saw a whole class of teenagers, crying and huddled together on the floor, staring at them. Two others -- Joy Rickers and Nick Walczak -- were injured. But the beauty and the wildlife and the mountains did not cure him. Danny began to feel that while he couldnt control what happened when he was a junior in high school, he could control what kind of person that event made him into. They know what parts of themselves they've been able to reclaim, and what parts belong forever to that day. "When everyone went to college, that's when I learned how to do it," he adds. What if we all gave and expected nothing back. The people of this tiny town have had six years to reflect on what a seventeen-year-old boy with a gun did, and how his terrible act has affected them. Nick and Brittany plan to marry, but when she started school this fall at Cleveland State University, she delivered an ultimatum. We're happy about that.". Walczak, who is paralyzed from the waist down, now has a helper who can make his difficult life easier. A midsize city like Asheville would be perfect for what he called their fun couple phase, before vows and children. Lane killed Daniel Parmertor and Demetrius Hewlin, both 16, and Russell King. Within seconds, he was on the ground. All of the boys Demetrius Hewlin, Russell King Jr. and Daniel Parmertor would die from their injuries. But there are still concerns. Long before he met Nick, the inmates were training Turner to open doors, remove socks and retrieve shoes or anything Nick might drop on the floor. "I thought it was a good meeting. "After a month together, it just clicked. Ive changed a lot. Nick was shot multiple times by a fellow student and is now paralyzed. At the time Robins called her, the cutoff age for W.A.G.S. "I've got my car, I've got my friends and now I've got Turner," Nick says. Other times, he turns the anger around in his mind like a fidget spinner. "It's like the class clown. Here's a moving news report about Nick Walczakwho was wounded in the shooting at Chardon (Ohio) High School shooting in February 2012and his new service dog, Turner. njw57@medaille.edu. For instance, Im in rehab for my hamstring right now. And the two others, Nick Walczak, 17, and Joy Rickers, 18, were injured. One humid day, we sat at a picnic table at a park about twenty minutes from his house. Walczak, Nicholas J.Nicholas James Walczak, age 19, of Cascade, was called home into the arms of his Lord, where he is finally at peace. There was something else, beside the anger. "I taught Demetrius not to live in the past, to live in today and forgiveness is divine. He told me this was not a decision made in a rush of emotion, but one based on a levelheaded assessment: Being dead sounded better than being alive. Six years ago, on a Monday morning in late February, at about 7:30 a.m., a seventeen-year-old boy opened fire in the cafeteria of Chardon High School. It seemed to have an effect, CoCo told me, even if "it was not the whole solution for her." "Joyce said, 'It hurts me so bad what happened at Chardon, these are the facts,' yada, yada, yada. I asked him if he was going to support the bill, and he said he hadn't read it. Then Ill have a week and it just hurts," he said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. In 2012, Nick Walczak survived a school shooting in Chardon, Ohio.This is his story. For the past couple of months, @RustBeltRiders has fashioned a composting program for @WestSideMarket vendors. He remembers having to decide which way to turn when he entered the hallway: left or right? student, Nick Walczak, was paralyzed, and two other students were injured. Even so, things had improved over the last year. He suggested that she eat some pizza, and when she said no, he didnt push the matter but sat beside her while she picked at her granola bar. Like most 19-year-olds, his confidence ebbs and flows. We sat on the porch, and he made black tea flavored with mint from his garden. When the crew sands, the drywall mud turns into dust, and the dust collects in his reddish-brown beard and at his temples, where his hair is already turning silver. Danny was sitting right between Danny P. and Russell. This bullet, the fourth one, severed his spine. Lane's bus ride to Lake Academy required him to change buses at Chardon High School. Now, looking back, Brandon told me he could see all the ways that day had changed him. "Until you've walked in another person's shoes, you don't know what made him come to this point.". People told me about panicking at the sight of helicopters or news crews, both of which they associated with that day. Even with T.J. behind bars, his act of violence continued to destroy. Nate Mueller and Joy Rickers were wounded, as was Nick Walczak, who is paralyzed from the waist down, according to Reuters. The mom credits teacher Joseph Ricci for saving her son's life by dragging him into another room after he was shot and caring for him until paramedics arrived. Right as he thought that, three geese began to fly just above his truck, as if they were going where he was going. I had a lot of friends. Danny respected her. Three students--Demetrius Hewlin, Russell King Jr. and Daniel Parmertor--died from their wounds. On that first visit, Nick rolled in his wheelchair into the center of the half-circle. "I just kept thinking, I have to get to my car.". Because they could not eat, she should not eat, either. "I saw him in the hospital and it was the worst day of my life," Josh Walczak said. "Mrs. Sprinzl told me not to call my mother yet. "And Nick needed a dog. Then the boy with the gun ran down the hallway, where he saw Nick Walczak, a student hed shot already several times in the cafeteria. Nate had moved to Washington, D.C., for an internship with Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 510 likes. #TheTeenageDream http://www.sandyhookpromise.org/teenagedream*** This vi. Walczak learned that on March 4, 1974, less than 17 months after the disappearance of her husband, Pegge Begich, the window of Congressman Begich, married Jerry Max Pasley, who years later was convicted of murder and bombing in connection with his with ties to the Mafia. A third bullet bore through his neck and lodged in his cheek, where it remains to this day. "He's my best friend. He thinks about her, he said. I know its important that we have to do this. Demetrius, whod only recently begun to hang out with their crew, sat just across the table. After less than two months together, Turner and 19-year-old Nick are inseparable. It has happened too often, and at too-perfect moments, he said, to be a coincidence. "When he realized everyone around him was growing up, he also realized he was not doing anything. "I just dropped," he says. ! Mike DeWine suffered injury while in East Palestine, Explosion at Cleveland manufacturing business, Madison Burger King fire causes total loss, fire department says, National Association of Secondary School Principals, Closed Captioning/Audio Description Problems. I want them to know they do matter.". It's a bittersweet memory for the inmates. There were a few others, like Joan Blackburn, the wise, approachable social worker the high school brought in after the shooting. "Before the shooting. If he would have shot me, Nick wouldnt have been paralyzed, she told me. "They took him this morning five minutes to eight to take his organs, so I'm having a hard time," Ferguson said as she choked back tears. Every year, Anna Chambers' friends and family patiently wait to find out which elaborate costume she's come up with. "If he finds a place he likes that doesn't have that, I want him to live there. That's all I'd say," Ferguson said. Danny turned back around, threw his head down, and played dead. He got a half-sleeve tattoo with a cross, Russells name, and the phrase live for. A lot. Nick Walczak. I know he can do it," his mother said. Dining Guide: Cleveland's Best Black-Own Nick Walczak smiles and repeats the question, slowly. Brandon was in the hall at Chardon High School when he heard it. One day he was finishing drywall and another worker shot a nail gun without warning. Immediately, the dog ran to Nick, raising up on his hind legs and placing his front paws on Nick's lap so that he could lay his head on his chest and shoulder. After the shooting, Danny could not imagine how a loving God could allow such terrible things to happen. "I remember three shots," he says. "I've told him many times: 'If anybody was meant to be shot four times and end up in a wheelchair and go through hell, it's you. As she methodically ripped a piece of cardboard into tinier and tinier shreds at her mother's table, she told me how angry she was that shootings kept happening. "You're off duty right now. "I'm not going to get into who said what," he says. Lane has not given a motive for the shootings, which rocked the. He last visited with Lane shortly after he was sentenced to serve life in prison for the February 2012 shooting rampage. Maybe Europe. Subscribe to Justia's Free Newsletters featuring summaries of federal and state court opinions.. Danny and Russelland Demetrius and Danny P. and Nick and a bunch of their friendswere waiting in Chardons cafeteria for the bus to take them to a vocational school, where they spent half the day. "I could still walk.". As the months and years passed, Jen struggled with a thought not uncommon to Chardon residents: If only. Mayor Hinges on Voter Rolls, Preventing a Repeat of WWII-Era Imprisonment, Fox News Told Viewers What They Wanted to Hear. In recent weeks, Nick has talked about a career in video game design. They spoke at a gun control rally in Akron, where armed protestors stood feet away. One bullet grazed the right ear of Nate Mueller, who leaped over Nick. Danny figured he was in trouble. One day I caught a middle school drama group in the square, performing skits designed to promote good values. Nick Walczak was shot three times in a 2012 school shooting in Chardon, Ohio, and was paralyzed by a bullet in his spine, according to the video, which features them among the survivors. CoCos youngest child was in Spanish class at the time of the shooting, CoCo told me. One day, Andy stopped him in the hall. "You can't even make your own bed.". She told me shed hoped that talking about her experience publicly might help other people, a way to make something good come out of something bad. Her world-weariness dropped away as she described the table decorations. Walczak will focus on teaching and implementing the proper techniques and approach to all Medaille hitters. He couldnt blame her, but he wished shed waited. Jen and her husband, Joe, were high school sweethearts. ", Nick shrugs off the praise. He's my constant companion, which means somebody's always with me." "Nick uses his humor to not let people realize everything going on in his life," she says. The first time I spoke with CoCo by phone, late on a weekday evening after my kids had gone to bed, she cried four times. "I was everything he hated. Weddings became fraught affairs after that. People will tell you its okay, Jen told me one afternoon. Sometimes Danny feels inspired by the idea that he is living for Russell. I kept asking her about that, to make sure I heard her right. It's going to be a really slow process, they said. Three more teens were injured, including then-17-year-old Nick Walczak, who is now paralyzed and unable to walk. By Annie Nickoloff. Chardon/Kent Ohio Joined February 2012. Walczak has concluded that because of extreme turbulence that morning in Portage Pass, from where he is broadcasting, that the Cessna crashed into Prince William Sound and never even made it as far as Hinchinbrook Island. They also met with Rep. David Joyce, who was the prosecutor in the Chardon shooting until he was elected in November 2012 to replace Rep. Steve LaTourette. "When I met Turner, all I could think at first was, This dog was trained in a prison and he doesn't feel close to me. She told ABC News on Wednesday that she had forgiven suspected shooter T.J. Lane. "He has a bullet still in his cheek and his neck," Holly Walczak said. He could not get excited about things. The shooter is in prison for life. I wanted a cheap place to train dogs," she says, shrugging her shoulders. He got a desk job at a local crane company, where he worked three days a week until January, when he quit to focus on full-time school. Nate was furious. He keeps close to his boss, who brought God into his life, and whom hes come to think of as a father. On the morning of Feb. 27, 2012, 17-year-old Nick was sitting at a table in Chardon High School's cafeteria. DeVan said that during interrogations, Lane was a cold, wet. I'm OK. One Monday morning not too long ago, Danny woke up thinking of Russell. He found himself in a sea of off-white, trying to distinguish between eggshell and creamGet the cream ones, shed saidwhen he suddenly thought: I cant do this. "I do," he says, looking down at Turner. She was shocked and hurt and angry. He thought, How many more times is my mom going to smile on the couch after work if Im not here?. "One more thing: Somewhere in there let everyone know I don't forgive T.J. He's paralyzed from the waist down. He told me hed bought the house with his ex-fiance. They are both Nick in his hoodie, Turner in his service vest wearing neon green. "My ideal plan was that I would have graduated from Auburn with basic electrical skills," he says. How could I say no?". But I do know theres something, or someone, up there.. All month long, the Coach Hall Foundation has been promoting a #27BeTheChange campaign, encouraging 27 days worth of acts of kindness. Nick Walczak and Nate Mueller came face-to-face with T.J. Lane this morning for the first time since the Feb. 27 shooting at Chardon High School. Some months back, Danny ran into Brandon Lichtinger, his old English teacher from Chardon High School. L, as she calls himtold her how much it helped him. "It was a bunch of energy sucking into my body, and then letting go. When the big one flew off, as if to emphasize the point, it left behind the only thing a goose can leave on a windshield. The first time Nick visited, Crann and several prison officials escorted him and his mother to the room where Turner sat, surrounded by the six inmates who had taught him 50 commands. I want to able to do that for others as well, he said. Nick Walczak. He told me he had plans, but ultimately, he couldnt do it. "I wanted to earn my high-voltage license, just like my dad. What: Bull-riding benefit for Nick Volden featuring mutton busting, bull riding, barrel racing, a band and auction. But Robins knew Wendy Crann, founder and executive director of W.A.G.S. But as Connie Schultz details, he's piecing his life together with the help of family, friends and a service dog. The first time I spoke with CoCo by phone, late on a weekday evening after my kids had gone to bed . "But we know Turner's out there performing tasks for Nick. Does it scare them? Then one night, she'd had a kind of breakthrough. You're angry? When: 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22 Where: Midnight Riders Arena near Mondovi Purpose: Money will go toward paying Volden's medical bills and helping the family pay for a wheelchair-accessible home. He is a fan of the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, acknowledging that some would find his affection for such a violent game troubling. So he came home and tried a strange-sounding therapy recommended by his next-door neighbor, a fellow Chardon teacher, called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR. On the second anniversary of the shooting, Russell's dad, Russell King Sr., died at age forty-eight from an overdose of heroin and alcohol. Brandon gave Danny a hug and apologized. I wasn't thinking about how training Turner helped the prisoners.". Some days I can tell it's really hard for him, and he tries to protect me from it. He proposed to his girlfriend. Finally, nearly four years after the shooting, Brandon went to his boss, Andy Fetchik. He turned to Jen. He got into an expressive arts therapy program in Boston, though when he thought about moving, and working with traumatized kids, he decided maybe he wasnt ready for that just yet. 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