Just a few months ago, Jesse Malin was standing on stage at Webster Hall, looking out at a crowd of screaming fans.
The singer-songwriter leapt off the stage, microphone in hand, and made his way to the bar in the back, atop of which he climbed to lead the room in a sing-a-long, reported Rolling Stone.
He was celebrating the re-recording and re-release of his first album, 'The Fine Art of Self Destruction,' performing in front of a sold-out crowd in what the outlet called a "triumphant gig".
Little more than a month later, the New York punk rocker was laying in a hospital bed, unable to move his legs — completely paralysed from the waist down.
Now, the D Generation band member isn't certain he'll ever walk again.
Malin had been out with his bandmates at an Italian restaurant in the East Village on May 4, commemorating the one-year death anniversary of the performer's best friend and bass player, Howie Pyro.
In an instant, he was on the floor, a burning pain shooting down to his hips, through his legs and down to his feet.
The 56-year-old watched helplessly as his friends moved into action, picking him up and moving him to a the hallway of a nearby apartment and calling emergency services.
“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 told Rolling Stone.
Malin had experienced a rare form of stroke in his spinal cord, which effectively paralysed him from the waist down, doctors told him.
"I’m told that they don’t really understand it, and they’re not sure of the chances," he said. "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."
"This is the hardest six weeks I've ever had," he added.
But the 'Room 13' singer is determined to make a comeback and get back to performing — including the stage dives he's become famous for.
He's adopted a positive mental attitude, which he calls a P.M.A. — a reference to the song 'Attitude' by Bad Brains.
“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," he said. "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.”
At the rehab facility where he currently resides, he's going through physical therapy and rehabilitation three times a day, designed to teach him how to function without the use of his legs.
Eventually, the singer will move into an ADA-compliant apartment, which will cost a fortune on top of the already staggering medical bills he's footing.
He's also losing a significant amount of money from canceling both the U.S. and UK legs of his tour.
Malin's manager, David Bason, set up a fundraiser to help Malin cover the costs.
"His insurance is good but it will not cover many of his expenses beyond acute care," the fundraiser's website reads. "Your donation can help relieve him of the added pressures associated with the enormous expense of his immediate and long term care."
Malin is learning to adapt to his newly semi-vegetative state.
"Just laying here and not being able to walk, it’s very humbling," he said. "There’s something liberating about the truth, that this is what’s happening to me right now."
