"See you soon", said the mum and girlfriend of a Leeds man, moments before he was in a serious crash and left paralysed.
On January 9, Danny from Yeadon, was driving on a motorbike through Cliffe Avenue in Bradford when he and another vehicle crashed. "He was flung into a garden and his legs weren't moving," his niece Daniella explained.
The dad-of-two, who was going to meet his girlfriend and mum before the crash, was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary and has been left paralysed from the waist down. Daniella, 23, added: "We didn't know if he was going to survive, it was awful."
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Danny's family followed the ambulance to the hospital to be by his side. Daniella said: "After sitting nervously outside of resuscitation awaiting updates for six hours it was nerve wracking.
"His doctors came out and broke the news that turned all of our lives upside down. It was awful to see and he was uncomfortable.
"Doctors said Danny had crushed his spine from the chest down, he had a bleed on his brain, broken ribs and punctured his lungs amongst other things. They said he may never walk again."
The following day the 26-year-old underwent a six hour operation on his spine and he was induced into a comma for just short of two weeks. The dad to two little boys was working as a welder before his accident but "he won't be able to work again," his niece added.
"With two beautiful little boys this is the sort of injury that will change his life forever, but we are determined to get our Danny back to how he was before the accident and hopefully beat the odds and get him on his feet again."
Daniella said her uncle has always been the "fun and entertaining" member of their big family. She said: "Now, since his accident something has changed. At first he wasn't himself.
"Eventually after the longest three weeks of our lives, Danny finally started to come around and was moved out of ICU. Now, three weeks after the accident Danny is speaking, cracking jokes and asking us to grab him his boots so we can go home, ‘it’s not that far we can walk it in no time’ Danny says."
Daniella added: "I have never in my life see Danny upset and vulnerable. He is such a happy person and really cheeky.
"He also has a cheeky little laugh and through the whole situation I was thinking 'I can’t wait to hear his laugh' but it is slow. I just really want to get him back to being him."
Daniella explained the financial difficulties their working-class family have also faced during this time. She added: "We have had to take time off work with it all, and my grandma is struggling to pay her bills.
"We don't want him to be without everyone and we want to help him but we just don't have the money." She explained that Danny will need a wheelchair, and may need at-home assistance. What's more with him out of work, he needs money to support his children.
Danny will also have to move out of his current residency; he lives in an apartment where there is no lift for wheelchair access. "None of us are in a position to help Danny with what we earn," Danielle said.
"Even the parking at the hospital is expensive." As a result, the family have set up a Go Fund Me page in order to fundraise to get Danny a wheelchair, equipment he may need, and money to help support his home life.
Daniella added: "We are eternally grateful to all his doctors and nurses for bringing our Danny back to us but unfortunately after such a serious injury to his spine and brain he’s missing such a huge part of himself. We know it’s going to be a long road to recovery as the doctors have told us he may be in the hospital until the end of the year."
"But Danny and all the family are determined to get him back on his feet and back to doing what he loves best, been out and about. Maybe not on a bike, but as Danny says ‘a proper good wheelchair’ will do for now.
"We want Danny to have the best possible quality of life and to raise money to help with his recovery and the move from hospital to a new wheelchair adapted home."
To donate to the Go Fund Me page click here.
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