A woman was left unable to walk after a piano slipped and fell on her as she helped a friend move the instrument.
Danielle Drummond, 28, who had recently moved from Cleveland, Ohiohas Oregon for a fresh start, is now hoping for a scientific breakthrough after the ordeal left her both confined to a wheelchair and a caregiver.
She told Cleveland-based 19 News that she tried to steady the piano by offering to help last month, but her friend lost her grip.
“She fell on me like an upright grand piano and it severed my spinal cord,” Ms Drummond said.
“Now I’m paralyzed from the waist down.”
Ms. Drummond has no family in Eugene, the Oregon city where she lives, and also needs to find a permanent home, after living in a van with her dog, Lotus.
To compound her problems, she doesn’t know how she could begin to return to her family in Cleveland and transfer all of her possessions and medical equipment.
Her sister set up a fundraising page to “support future medical needs”, aiming to raise $10,000 (£7,850).
“Our family thanks you for all your support, consideration, thoughts, love and prayers,” wrote her sister Rosie Hayne, describing Ms Drummond as “strong”, “wise” and “down to earth”.
In an update on the GoFundMe page, Ms Hayne added: “She wants to make it clear that she does not expect to ever walk again.
“She has accepted the reality of her situation. But she has an incredible spirit and an overall positive attitude, focusing on what she can do.”
Drummond told 19 News she hopes people in similar circumstances “don’t give up.”
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In the meantime, his wish remains to see a new development in the treatment.
“It’s definitely a game-changer for me,” she said. “I’m trying to stay hopeful.”
