The Jerry Segal Classic

It was the evening of May 24, 2018, on the cusp of a busy Memorial Day weekend, when Dave, a then 39 year-old attorney, Little League coach, and, most importantly, husband and father of two (5- and 1-years old), was getting ready for bed and felt a pinch in his lower back that quickly exploded into excruciating pain. Over the course of the night, the pain somehow worsened. He was transported to Lankenau Hospital on a stretcher via an ambulance.  While in the emergency room, Dave began to lose function and sensation from the waist down.  He was immediately surrounded by a team of doctors.  Since the pain was so extreme, and pain medication was required, Dave was not aware of much of what was happening.   An MRI revealed that one of his lumbar spinal discs migrated to compress the nerves of his spinal cord. He had a rare syndrome: Cauda Equina.

Time was of the essence.   A room was prepped and he was hurried to surgery, where he underwent a discectomy and laminectomy to decompress the spinal nerves.  When he awoke from the successful surgery, he was shocked to be paralyzed from the waist down.  The surgeons and physicians did not know whether Dave would ever be able to walk again or regain function from the waist down.  None of this could have been anticipated just a few hours earlier.  Dave and Jess were terrified.  He spent a week at Lankenau recovering from the shock of these unanticipated events, however, he did not make any physical improvement. His family was faced with the difficult decision of where he would go to acute rehabilitation. Luckily they made the best decision possible in choosing Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

From the moment he entered its doors, Dave was surrounded by an indescribable positivity and optimism that kept him afloat in even his lowest moments. From the physicians and nurses to the therapists to the administrative and housekeeping staff, everyone on Magee’s large, diverse team was genuinely invested in and committed to his rehabilitation. Thanks to them, and his uttermost determination and dedication, he was able to rise above a grim prognosis and make a remarkable recovery. After 4+ weeks, consisting of the most challenging and grueling time of his life, Dave miraculously walked out of Magee with the use of custom orthotic braces and a walker.  Dave was so fortunate to be one of the few patients to be able to walk out of the doors of Magee at discharge.  After months of outpatient therapies and home exercises, he was back at work full-time, with the assistance of a driver. Just one year ago Magee helped to give him his life back.

2019 is the 30th year of The Jerry Segal Classic, a charity golf outing and reception created by Jerry which has, incredibly,  raised over $18 million for Magee. Every dollar raised goes directly to Magee to assist the world-class staff who did so much for Dave, and the expensive equipment and tools they used to do it. In fact, this contraption  he used in his first week at Magee was paid for by the charity, as were the beautiful rooftop garden, arts and music studios that helped keep him sane (and still have his son asking “when can we go back to Magee?”).  The support from the surrounding community and his friends and family was unbelievable. (Brandon Graham  and Charlie Manuel).  The Friends of Jerry Segal support numerous programs and services for individuals with disabilities. Whether helping a patient purchase a wheelchair, providing funds to help patients as they return to their family, friends, and jobs, or funding community initiatives such as Magee's peer support programs, The Jerry Segal Classic has touched the lives of thousands of individuals. 

Magee houses just about 60 acute patients at a time, many of them for weeks and months, and money raised also pays for transportation and housing for patients’ families who otherwise could not afford to visit, along with providing meals for patients and visiting family members. And trust me, those visits are critically important for any recovery. For a list of items supported by the Classic, please click here.

Please join us in making a difference for the patients at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.  We're raising money to benefit The Jerry Segal Classic, and any donation has a positive impact on the lives of these acute trauma patients and their families to address therapy and personal needs.  

With love,

Dave and Jess