On Nov. 12, San Francisco drag performer Pippi Lovestocking returns to the Oasis stage for her first solo show since a 2023 medical crisis led to the amputation of both hands and feet. The performer, also known as Scot Free, whose full name is Scot Lance Coker, will present the one-night-only cabaret Pippi Lovestocking: Terminally Unique.
The crisis began in May 2023, as Lovestocking spoke at her friend Heklina’s memorial at the Castro Theatre. She told the San Francisco Chronicle she felt “like the bottom was dropping out of my heart.” The memorial drew a crowd large enough to shut down Castro Street. Lovestocking and Heklina had co-founded the drag event Trannyshack in 1996 at the former Stud bar, joining a long friendship with a creative partnership.
A Coma, Sepsis and a Quadruple Amputation
The aneurysm required emergency cardiac surgery, followed by a medically induced coma. The Chronicle reported that Lovestocking was in the coma for 16 days; the forthcoming documentary’s page from Filmmakers Collaborative SF describes a week-long coma during which she contracted sepsis. The accounts differ on the duration. Sepsis damaged her kidneys and cut off circulation to her hands and feet, leading to the amputations. According to the seed facts underlying the Chronicle’s account, she was considered clinically dead more than once.
Lovestocking went to a religious halfway house in Barstow in 2022 and later recovered in Palm Springs after more than four months in a San Francisco hospital. She later moved into an assisted living facility in Rancho Mirage. A GoFundMe campaign helped her buy prosthetic limbs. By the time of a March 2024 Chronicle report, it had raised almost $70,000 for her care and living expenses; Lovestocking said her hand prosthetics cost more than $20,000 each, “a small car each.”
From a Palm Springs Benefit to San Francisco Pride
A Palm Springs event advertised a comedy set by Lovestocking. Hosted by Peaches Christ, the event was billed as her triumphant return and a fundraiser for Parts of Pippi, a documentary about her life. San Francisco filmmaker Robert James is making the documentary; his previous work includes Ruminations and Mrs. Vera’s Daybook.
Terminally Unique Lands at Oasis
The Nov. 12 cabaret is scheduled at Oasis. Timmy Spence is among Lovestocking’s drag family.
Prosthetic Costs and SoMa’s LGBTQ Context
Medicare.gov says Part B covers prosthetic devices ordered by a doctor or other health care provider. After meeting the Part B deductible, patients pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. This general policy does not establish Lovestocking’s coverage or costs.
A San Francisco Planning Commission report recognizes SoMa’s Leather and LGBTQ communities as the Leather Town Cultural District, part of the city’s broader LGBTQ cultural landscape. The report provides that neighborhood context, but does not describe Oasis’s specific role in it.
The Chronicle’s report on Lovestocking’s comeback was written by arts and culture columnist Tony Bravo. After a long recovery, Lovestocking has been exploring prosthetic options.
