Help us build onto their house & bring Danny home
This fundraiser is to support Danny and Rachelle. On December 16, 2020, Danny was in a horrific car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Bringing Danny home means rebuilding his and Rachelle’s home to accommodate his needs ― and purchasing all the equipment and care his insurance won’t cover. Those expenses add up quickly. The average cost to bring home a person with a severe spinal cord injury is roughly $374,000 the first year alone. Here is Danny’s story. Please help this couple who have helped so many!
I met Danny when Rachelle brought him to a Christmas party in December 2019. They had just started dating. Although Rachelle had been through one hell of a year, the sparkle in her eyes was evident, and I hadn’t heard her laugh so lightheartedly in ages. But this is Danny’s story, so I won’t digress.
The Danny I met was always laughing, making jokes and greeting everyone he met without a trace of trepidation. He dove head first into the role of supporting Rachelle and all her endeavors ― and let me tell you, this is not an easy feat! Rachelle is a superhero of sorts. But we refer to her as a “Souper” Hero because she does street outreach in the Kansas City houseless community, leading the largest picnic the local group hosts. Danny became her wing man almost overnight.
Rachelle could count on Danny day or night ― and often both ― to drop everything and run out to pick up or deliver essential items for those in need. He helped organize supplies that are dropped off daily at Rachelle’s house, all while building relationships with numerous other volunteers. If I popped in to drop off donations, Danny was always ready to help unload before I could even get out of my car. And boy was he a talker! But I loved it, because he never wanted to simply talk about small stuff. He didn’t want to sit and talk about the past either, but I knew from conversations with Rachelle that his former life had been fraught with hardships and poor choices. Danny always spoke in the present, as he looked to the future. Every time I saw him, he would tell me something new he had learned about himself or life. Even though some days I would be in a hurry to drop things off and go, I would get pulled into conversations with him. Who wants to walk away from the beauty and inspiration exuding from a person who has made an about-face and now finds joy at every turn while helping others and finding healing in that for himself as well?
On December 16, everything changed. Danny was in a car accident while making a delivery on his job as a courier. Seeing his car after the accident, you have to wonder how anyone could have survived it, but Danny did, because he’s a fighter.
Danny’s spine was crushed. He was in surgery for 12 hours while doctors pieced his spine back together with metal and bolts. His doctors told him to prepare for a future where he would never walk again. Things were touch and go for the first month: infections, lungs filling with fluid and a tracheotomy to help him breathe. Rachelle spent many a tear-filled day at the hospital holding onto hope and Danny’s motionless hands.
As I said before, Danny’s a fighter. Though there were hours that seemed as if they might steal his last breath away from him, he refused to succumb. I had the honor of visiting Danny in the hospital. He had been getting a cap on his trach for an hour, then two, then three, to see if he could breathe on his own without his lungs needing to be suctioned. The day of my visit was the first day he would try to keep the cap on for 24 hours so he could hopefully have the trach removed. The first time he had a coughing fit, I feared he wouldn’t be able to clear his lungs on his own, but he was quick to prove me wrong. He even joked about it after, gave me a hard time for thinking the worst, and told me that even though I had fear in my eyes, he knew the determination in his heart would prevail. I told him more than once I could help him if he needed it, but persistent as he is, he pushed himself to accomplish every task he set out to do on his own. Watching Danny struggle to use his arms and hands in a tenodesis grip, I was in awe of his strength and his ability to adapt and persevere.
As we talked, and at my encouragement, Danny spoke for the first time about his past: all the trials and challenges that brought him to where he is today. I learned that he was born into an unstable life, with a mother who had a crack addiction and theft problem that led her in and out of prison. Danny bounced back and forth between family and friends, and he never learned who his father was. At the age of 10, when his mother was released from prison, he went back to live with her and was introduced to a life of cheating the system. At 10 years old, his mother was using him as an accomplice. An innocent child, his only role models modeled tricks, addiction and lies, and taught them as if they were truths. Soon Danny had two little sisters to watch over when his mom would leave them alone, often for days. She would often show up in the middle of the night, make a full-course meal, wake up all the kids at 3 a.m. and tell them to come eat. And they would. Because it was often the first meal they’d had in days, and possibly the only one they would have all week.
It’s no surprise that Danny ended up in and out of boys’ homes and eventually prison. He was living life the way he’d always been taught: recklessly, with no hope for the future. But his last stint in prison changed him. When he got out, he was determined to walk a different path. And he did. That’s when his and Rachelle’s worlds collided.
Danny and Rachelle spent exactly 365 days together, learning about each other, and doing street outreach in Kansas City. Danny was healing, and so was Rachelle, whose young son Tyler died from cancer in 2018. The night before his accident, Danny told Rachelle they should take a photo together every day to track their journey, because you never know what day could be your last, and he didn’t want to forget a single minute of it. They were going to keep building a beautiful life together, devoted to giving a hand up to the less fortunate in our community.
So much has changed in the 2 months since the accident, but Danny and Rachelle still hold tight to their dream. They still speak of doing street outreach together, lifting others up and inspiring others to overcome adversity. And I know they will. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with ― and the two of them together are pure dynamite.
We want to see Danny and Rachelle doing outreach on the streets together again. The houseless friends Danny has connected with ask about him weekly and look forward to his return. Danny coming back from this doesn’t just give you or me hope. It brings hope to those who often feel they don’t have much to hope for. Danny’s story is a beacon for many who could use his shining light as a truth that we can leave behind the darkness and shame of our pasts. Danny will never walk again. But he will keep rolling forward, his eyes on the truth that we all have a purpose in this world.
Danny came home February 16, sooner than expected. Their home does not accommodate his wheelchair, hospital bed and equipment well. He and Rachelle will make do for the time being, but they need to widen doorways, add on to rooms, build ramps, add a new shower, etc., as soon as possible. And they will need a new vehicle and lift to transport him to appointments, as well as in-home care that is not being provided currently.
Please consider making a contribution. Every little bit makes a huge difference! Please help Danny and Rachelle modify their home, get in-home care, and purchase a vehicle so that together they can keep building community on the streets of Kansas City, and continue to share healing through the love they have found in and for one another.
#BuildtheHouse
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#BringDannyHome
