By GAYLE PEREZ The Pueblo Chieftain

Rebecca Savage couldn't wait to see her favorite music group Savage Garden perform at the Colorado State Fair Events Center on Aug. 26. The 5-year-old and her family arrived at the Events Center early to find their seats and settle in for the night's show.

But before the duo got onstage, Rebecca and her mother, Jennifer, went for a walk, and the youngster took a tumble. "I saw Rebecca face down on the ground," said Mrs. Savage of Colorado Springs. "I picked her up and there was blood every where."

Rebecca had hit her nose and mouth on the concrete floor and was bleeding profusely. Paramedic Terry Bitterlich arrived to help Rebecca. "She had blood all over her face and her nose was swollen pretty good," said Bitterlich, who is the EMS coordinator at the Fair for St. Mary-Corwin and a paramedic for the American Medical Response ambulance.

"We made the decision that she should be taken to the hospital to be looked at a little more closely," Bitterlich said. So Eric Savage accompanied his daughter to the hospital while the rest of the family stayed for the show. Although Rebecca's injuries were not serious, she never made it back to the concert.

Shortly after the concert started, Bitterlich responded to another medical in the Events Center. This time, it was Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes, who was having difficulty breathing because of the high altitude here. "We treated him throughout the concert with oxygen," said Bitterlich, whom Hayes invited to meet the band backstage after the concert.

"While we were back there, we got to talking about Rebecca and how she had never made it back to the concert," Bitterlich said. He said that Hayes immediately got one of the band's World Tour Books and signed a copy for Rebecca. "It was the neatest thing, because we were just talking and he focused in on Rebecca and decided he had to do something special for her," Bitterlich said.

After trying all week to connect with the Savage family, Bitterlich finally hand-delivered the signed program to Rebecca on Friday. "She was pretty disappointed that she missed the concert, but she's glad she at least got the signed book," said Mrs. Savage as the shy Rebecca stood nearby. "It was really nice of Darren to do that for her."

She added that Rebecca's story and Hayes' good deed have been posted on Savage Garden's Web site, and fans have offered her and Rebecca tickets to concerts throughout the United States. "But unfortunately, with four kids, it's kind of hard to buy airplane tickets, so I don't know what's going to happen with this."

At least, she said, Rebecca always will have a special memento from the concert she almost saw.

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