D Generation frontman Jesse Malin is currently paralyzed from the waist down after suffering a rare spinal stroke in early May. After keeping his condition under wraps for several weeks, the New York punk legend has opened up about his struggles in a new interview with Rolling Stone.
The 56-year-old Malin, who’s been stage diving and crowd surfing for decades, actually suffered the spinal stroke (also known as a spinal-cord infarction) while out to dinner with friends in New York City’s East Village on May 4th to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the passing of his D Generation bandmate Howie Pyro. He suddenly felt a burning pain that shot down from his lower back to his legs, and collapsed to the floor.
Malin was carried by Murphy’s Law singer Jimmy G to a nearby apartment hallway, where an ambulance came to rush him to the hospital. He has been paralyzed from the waist down ever since.
“This is the hardest six weeks that I’ve ever had,” he told Rolling Stone. “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.”
After spending two weeks at Mount Sinai hospital, Malin is currently at an NYU rehabilitation center undergoing three rounds of physical therapy per day.
The proud Malin — who has often hosted charity and tribute events for fellow punk luminaries and various causes at his own New York City bars Niagara and Bowery Electric — is now seeking help to pay his medical bills. While he has health insurance, it doesn’t come near covering the expenses he is currently facing, nor the loss of income from having to cancel his upcoming tours.
“I always felt that we have a voice with these microphones and with these guitars and with these venues to help each other out. But it’s very hard for me to take back and be that person,” he said. “I don’t want to be a burden, but I’m learning. Just laying here and not being able to walk, it’s very humbling.”
Malin is hopeful that he can recover, but is not sugarcoating his condition. “I didn’t want to get into the extremity of it,” he remarked. “And now it’s just time to let people know. Even though I really believe it’s a temporary state, I’m not going to walk out of here tomorrow with a leather jacket and a cane and go hang out at the bar. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of being in a wheelchair.”
Donations to help pay Jesse Malin’s medical expenses can be made at his dedicated page on the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.