Empower Daniel's Journey to Independence

Help Daniel on His Journey to Independence

Daniel Usakowski of West Michigan, age 24, is in need of your help! He suffered a spinal cord injury in 2020 which has left him disabled. The onset of spastic paraplegia in his legs was a gradual and terrifying process, and, for three years, he was in denial about his condition. He had hope that his condition would be reversed and he would regain mobility. Daniel suffered an additional series of life threatening medical events in 2023 and 2024 which again resulted in critical hospital care. One of the events resulted in kidney failure (which left him near death.) Following this, and after much prayer, he finally realized and accepted that his life moving forward would largely be spent without the ability to walk. To his surprise, he experienced a feeling of immense relief and soon after embraced his disability. He was finally ready to start living his life again with his current abilities instead of futilely waiting for a future recovery. While still in the ICU, he began dreaming of how he would live a fruitful life as a disabled person. He realized that like many others, he too can do many things while still in his disabled condition. That dream became a goal, and that goal became a plan. He quickly discovered many different kinds of adaptive equipment that would enable him to do something that he never thought possible—live his life as a normal person. During his stay at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he saw a sign with the words, “Believe You Can, and You’re Halfway There.” Those words have been proven true for him many times over as he surmounted challenge after challenge. Daniel will never forget those words, and he will never stop believing that he can achieve difficult things with perseverance, with the help of God, and with the help of a strong community.

However, Daniel now needs your help to progress to the next steps in his journey.

We are grateful now that a stairlift has been installed at our house! Daniel is finally able to get downstairs and back into his own bedroom. This is a huge help to both him and his family. He can now access the laundry room and family room as well as the driveway and the vehicles through our walkout basement door. This is a huge help as previously he was restricted to a single room, and relied on others to help him up and down stairs. In order to be fully functional in this space, Daniel will need to purchase a second custom wheelchair better adapted to his needs. It will fit better in the tighter downstairs hallways, can easily be loaded in the car, and is more suitable for outdoor use. Having a second wheelchair will enable Daniel to be completely independent on both levels of the house.

To further regain his independence, Daniel is also determined to drive once more. He is currently progressing through driver rehabilitation and is on track to be finished with training by early December 2024. He will need to purchase a car and specialized hand controls for the car so he can drive without using his feet. After regaining his ability to drive, Daniel hopes to begin college within the next year and plans on eventually returning to work. Being able to drive independently is a monumental step in achieving these attainable goals with your generosity.

Daniel understands that exercise is also important to his recovery! He enjoys riding his handcycle and is thrilled that he can experience the joy of cycling again even though he can no longer use his legs. During his group rides with the Mary Free Bed handcycling team (which he enjoys very much,) Daniel has been inspired with a love for handcycle racing. He is hoping to enter several handcycle races next year, but he needs to purchase a racing handcycle in order to be competitive in those races. Being able to exercise again and compete in an adaptive sport would restore Daniel’s physical competitiveness and sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately, none of these items are covered by insurance, and Daniel’s only source of income is Social Security Disability, which leaves the budget very tight for acquiring some of the things he now needs to make the next step in his recovery. With your generosity and donations, Daniel could pay for all of these expenses as well as other expenses related to his disability. Any contribution you can make will go a long way in helping Daniel live a meaningful and productive life once again. If you are unable to contribute financially, sharing this campaign with others means the world to us and gets us closer to our goal. Thank you in advance for anything you can spare. Please keep Daniel in your prayers and be assured that you will be part of ours.