Jesse Malin has been paralysed from the waist down after suffering a rare spinal stroke.
Jesse Malin paralysed from waist down after suffering rare spinal stroke
The 56-year-old musician was having dinner in New York City's East Village on May 4th - to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Howie Pyro, his former D Generation bandmate and best pal - when he felt a burning pain in his back, which went down to his hips and into his heels before he collapsed.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "Everybody was standing above me like in 'Rosemary’s Baby', saying all these different things, and I was there not knowing what was going on with my body."
Murphy’s Law singer Jimmy G carried Jesse out of the Italian restaurant they were in, and he was rushed to New York's Mount Sinai Hospital.
He is now trying to stay positive in the hope his body will recover, after the "hardest six weeks" of his life.
Jesse added: "I’m told that they don’t really understand it, and they’re not sure of the chances.
"The reports from the doctors have been tough, and there’s moments in the day where you want to cry, and where you’re scared. But I keep saying to myself that I can make this happen. I can recover my body."
Jesse spent two weeks in hospital before being transferred to a rehabilitation centre on May 18th, where he undergoes three rounds of physical therapy and rehabilitation a day.
The singer - who had to cancel his planned summer tour as a result of his stroke - is to be discharged later this month, but because he will be in a wheelchair Jesse needs to relocate from his walk-up apartment to one with a lift that is compliant with ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design].
It has been an emotional time for the star.
He said: "They took me outside for the first time the other day in a wheelchair, and I went through the lobby and I could see the sun shining through the glass, and I just started bawling.
"It felt like I was watching myself in this movie. I didn’t know this person.
"By the time I got to the corner, I got myself together and into a park, and just breathed in the air."
Jesse's manager David Bason and some of his friends have started a campaign via the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to raise money for his care.