Jesse Malin, 56, revealed that he was left paralyzed from the waist down after suffering from a spinal stroke last month.
The former D Generation frontman said he was at a dinner when he suffered the stroke. The dinner he attended was in honor of fellow D Generation band member Howie Pyro, who died last year from Covid-19 complications and liver disease.
“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,” he said after feeling lower back pain that traveled to his heels before eventually collapsing on the floor.
Since the stroke, the vocalist has been living at a New York University rehab center, where he spends his days undergoing physical therapy sessions and “neurological care.”
“This is the hardest six weeks that I’ve ever had,” he told Rolling Stone.
Malin, who was also frontman for the band Heart Attack, said that doctors “don’t understand it” and are unsure of the chances to full recovery.
“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,” he added. “But I keep saying to myself that I can make this happen. I can recover my body.”
Malin’s manager, David Bason, and their friends established a fund to help with the singer’s medical expenses. Due to his current state, Malin was forced to cancel a summer tour. The fund campaign states that his “diagnosis is inoperable.”
“Even though this has been the hardest time of my life, there’s been some gifts,” Malin acknowledged. “I knew I had some great friends and great fans and people in this world, and I’m getting to see a lot of that — though I would have really preferred a birthday party than to find out this way.”
