Jesse Malin, the former frontman of punk bands Heart Attack and D Generation, was at a party at a New York Italian restaurant in May when his life took a sudden turn. Out of nowhere, he felt a burning sensation in his groin, spreading from his hips to his heels. Suddenly he collapsed and could not move his legs.
“Everyone was standing over me like in ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and saying all these different things and I didn’t know what was going on with my body,” Malin said Rolling Stone in an article published on Wednesday.
The high-energy artist who made his first public stage dive at the age of 14 during a live taping of a Fear’s appearance on Saturday Night Live” — ended up suffering a rare spinal cord attack, or as Rolling Stone put it, a stroke in his back that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Malin spent two weeks in the hospital undergoing multiple spinal surgeries. He is currently in a rehab facility at New York University, where he is doing physical therapy and learning to do everyday tasks without legs.
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Adding to the shock of learning how to use his new body is Malin having to move from his walk-in apartment in New York City to an apartment with an elevator. The musician told Rolling Stone that he fears he may not be able to afford the costs of the move and his mounting medical bills, which include long-term care and outpatient rehab – despite having insurance and working as a musician.
Due to his stroke, Malin also had to cancel a summer tour that would have bloated his bank account.
Disabled people and poverty were linked According to a report on financial inequality for years National Disability Institute. A report from 2015 NPR found that less than one in five disabled adults is employed. This is due to numerous factors ranging from pure discrimination in the workplace based on disability from the inaccessibility of the workplace to the lack of travel accommodation This would enable a disabled person to find a job.
Malin’s manager and friends set one up campaign with the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to raise money for the singer’s expenses. The Donations are fully tax deductible I will contact him directly.
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Malin admitted to Rolling Stone that he has complicated feelings about getting help. In the past he has enjoyed raising funds for others. The magazine notes that he has made annual donations to the Joe Strummer Foundation and donated the proceeds from his pandemic livestreams to food banks. But he told Rolling Stone he was “embarrassed” to ask for help himself.
“I’ve always felt that with these mics, these guitars and these venues, we have a voice to help each other,” Malin said. “But I’m having a very hard time withdrawing and being that person. I don’t want to be a burden, but I’m learning. Just lying here and not being able to walk is very humiliating.”
