A playwright’s life, it has been said, is made of ticket stubs, random paragraphs from newspapers, and love letters found blowing down alleyways. Inspiration is always just around the corner whether a story overheard at a lunch counter, or the sound of children’s voices while walking past a playground.

For celebrated local playwright Terry Earp, inspiration has come from the saga of a local restaurateur, a visit to remote Ireland, the onset of “the change” and, most famously, the tales told of her husband’s illustrious family.

Wyatt Earp, Terry’s husband, is the great‑grand nephew of his namesake, one of the best‑known figures in the history of the Old West. Yet it wasn’t until Terry started writing plays about Wyatt and his famous cohorts such as “Doc” Holliday, “Big Nose” Kate and Mrs. Wyatt Earp, that Phoenicians had an opportunity to hear the deeper truths about the lawmen we all know from so many Hollywood movies.

Early on the morning of Sept. 16 this year, Terry Earp was hit by an SUV while out bicycling with Wyatt and a mutual friend. What has happened since then has been an inspiration, not to the playwright, but to us.

In their initial prognosis after the accident, which damaged the fourth and fifth vertebrae, doctors did not expect Terry to regain movement of her limbs. Breathing required a ventilator. But they didn’t count on Terry’s indomitable spirit, a quality she shares with the frontier women she’s written about.

After undergoing seven surgeries at various Phoenix hospitals and surviving a round of infections, Terry began to move her toes. By the end of October, she could spend days at a time off the ventilator. By mid‑November, she was wiggling her toes, moving her right arm slightly, and beginning to speak. As this story is being written (Nov. 22), Terry has just been flown to Craig Hospital near Denver, Colo., which specializes in intense physical therapy for victims of spinal injuries.

She’s speaking with some regularity. According to the Web site where her progress is being tracked (www.wyattearp.biz/update.htm), Terry uttered this just after being told she was on her way to Craig: “I won’t be able to get better staying in bed! I’m ready to go where they’ll work my body, then I’ll get better.”

This was spoken by someone who’s already undergone the following (also gleaned from the Web site):

- Surgery at neck to clear debris at injury site and rods inserted for stability.

- Bone slivers taken from elsewhere in the body and grafted into the damaged vertebrae areas to provide a framework for stable mending of bones.

- Broken bones in her left leg and hand repaired.

- Left knee cap, severely damaged, rebuilt as well as possible.

- One muscle in left calf removed from one side of the knee and reattached to the other side of knee.

- Skin graft taken from thigh and attached over left knee.

- Umbrella shaped “filter” placed in an artery to capture any clots or debris.

Anyone with the spirit to fight back after going through all that deserves our admiration and, if we can give it, our help. Far from all of this was paid for by the Earps’ insurance, so some of the family’s friends have organized a benefit concert, with all performers donating their talents and all funds going to help with medical expenses.

Folk music legend Barry McGuire and poet‑singer Rod McKuen will headline performances Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. at the Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale. Arizona historian Marshall Trimble, Arizona balladeer Dolan Ellis, and the Arizona Gunfighters will also be on hand, plus a small army of other singing, dancing, and storytelling Earp fans. Tickets are $27.50, $37.50 and $47.50; call (480) 596‑2660 to help out one of Arizona’s artistic treasures.

Terry Earp has authored more than 30 plays, including the comedy “Skimpies,” which earned her an AriZoni Award; “In My Humble Opinion,” which told the surprising story of the man who founded the Phoenix landmark restaurant, Durant’s; and “Menopause: The Comedy,” which ran for six months and anticipated the much‑ballyhooed “Menopause: The Musical.”

Her inspirations have come from every quarter, and now, it would seem, her latest inspiration is inspiration itself: the ability to breathe. From the horror of a near‑fatal accident may well come Terry Earp’s finest play. It has already produced her–and Wyatt’s–finest moments.