It was 3 weeks away, graduation from Hunterdon Central, Danny was 18 years old. On May 26, 2016 along with 2 of his friends, he was riding his dirt bike in a field, something he’s done since he’s 4 years old, but it just wasn’t his day. He hit a piece of concrete that was covered by tall grass and flew about 50 ft. Danny was air lifted to University Hospital in Newark, a Level 1 trauma center where he underwent back and spine surgery. He sustained an injury between T3 – T8, and a tear to his spinal cord that has been repaired, as well as a punctured lung and a fractured collar bone. He now has 2 rods and many screws in this area of his back. Danny spent 12 days in the hospital before he arrived at Kessler Rehabilitation for a 2 month stay. Danny doesn’t have use of his legs and currently has paralysis mid-torso down.
His short term goal was to physically make it to his graduation, he had 1 week as an in-patient at Kessler to learn how to use a wheel chair, how to transfer in and out of the car and just to feel strong……………..he did it!! He made it to graduation!
Since July 2016 Danny has been attending a paralysis recovery center called Project Walk in Mt. Laurel, NJ. He works with a trainer 3 days a week, 2 hours a day for a non-traditional type of therapy, a more intense type of therapy, working off of muscle spasms and retraining the brain, it has made him so much stronger as he continues working so hard! Unfortunately, Project Walk is not covered by insurance and is very expensive but has been so important on the road to his recovery.
Danny has never once complained about his situation but instead works on getting stronger, recovering and making the best out of every day with a remarkable positive attitude! Danny’s long term goal is to ride dirt bikes, snowboard and play ice hockey again someday
We are extremely grateful that the Shannon Daley Memorial Fund has chosen Danny for their fundraiser, thank you for the time, support and caring from a wonderful group of people!