New York musician Jesse Malin was left paralyzed from the waist down after suffering an extremely rare spinal stroke in early May. Malin’s manager and numerous artists have rallied around Malin to launch a donation campaign to help cover his medical expenses.
Malin was spending time with friends in the East Village to commemorate the one-year anniversary of his former D Generation bandmate Howie Pyro’s death when he suffered the stroke, Rolling Stone reports. “He felt a burning pain in his lumbar region that slowly migrated down his hips, through his thighs, and into his heels,” they write, adding that he collapsed onto the floor of the restaurant and has been unable to walk ever since.
“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,” Malin told the publication in his first interview since the accident. Malin says he was carried by Murphy’s Law singer Jimmy G from the chaos of the restaurant into a nearby apartment and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.
“This is the hardest six weeks that I’ve ever had,” he says. “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.”
Malin remains in the hospital though he is expected to be released later this month. The seasoned performer, who is known for his high-spirited on-stage presence and stage dives, canceled shows in the United States and the United Kingdom immediately after his accident but had not confirmed any details on the state of his health until now.
