December 18

On December 18, 2012 from 6pm - 8pm a fundraiser will be held at Willie's Sports Cafe in Western Hills.  For only $10, you get all you can eat and the best part....ALL proceeds go to the O'Keefe Family Medical Assistance Fund to help cover Danny's astronomical medical bills.

See you there!

Also, don't forget about "The Magical Night of Giving" at Tri-County Mall on Sunday, November 18th.  Stop by customer service and buy a wristband for $5 and receive exclusive discounts.  ALL proceeds go to the O'Keefe's.

Upcoming Event

Update about Danny: Amazing progress

Hi. I just got back from a weekend visit with Danny. Danny is really happy there. He’s working hard. We went to dinner and took a couple of walks in the fall leaves. On Saturday, we found a place to get Danny’s hair cut. The guy, Mr. Jackson did a great job, Danny loved it. Afterwards, Danny had his massage to help loosen his muscles. They donated this to Danny! It was a beautiful weekend. I would like to know, why it rains every time I drive there??

Each time I see Danny, I can see small improvements. He has more control when he lifts his right arm and it seems stronger too. It’s a small improvement but it’s an improvement.

Danny hasn’t been able to take his daily walk. He’s busy with his speech, OT, and PT. His day is starting at early. First session is at 9:00 and he’s going until after 6 with his OT and PT. He’s usually very tired at night.

It’s exciting each time I go up to Michigan and see the changes. The changes seem small, but it’s been 18 months since Danny has said a sentence to me. He recited two sentences to me, after his first week there. His reading is slowing improving as well. It’s hard to watch him struggle so. He’s remarkable in his never ending work ethics. He does his homework religiously. He’ll go over and over words till he has them just right. When you talked to Danny, he had a very limited vocabulary. He’d say just a few words and only one at a time. Now his vocabulary has greatly improved and we get a couple or three words at a time. At night Danny and I text and I would get a one word text. This week, I got a three words , “love you mom”. As you can imagine, I got teary.

UMAP has been very good for Danny. His therapists agrees. They would like to see Danny be able to stay at UMAP. As you know, the program is close to $1000/per day. We need your help in keeping him there. Please help us spread Danny’s story. We need everyone’s help in doing this. You all have helped us so much already, THANK YOU!

Ways to help: 1) donate directly to UMAP (earmarked for Danny) and get their tax ID number.
                       2) donate Marriott points
                       3) donate to any Fifth/Third Bank under The O’Keefe Family Assistance Fund.
                       4) donate with paypal on the help the O’Keefe Family blog.
                       5) help us spread the word
                       6) share your ideas!


Thank you for helping us get Danny’s life back.

Love,

Kathy

From Danny's Cousin

“Who is your hero” is a question that I have been asked many times. Before, I could never quite grasp the concept of what a hero was. I knew that superheroes were people in comic books who had super powers, but I had never met someone like that. Did heroes truly exist? After seventeen years of searching for the answer, I found it. I found the one man to call my “Superman,” and it is my cousin Danny.

Danny is your typical twenty-seven year old guy who enjoys hanging out with friends and can always be found watching football. He never hesitates to ask me how I am, and I will never forget the time he asked me to dance at our cousin’s wedding. Danny always knew what he wanted for his future, and he worked hard to accomplish that task. On the first try, he passed the BAR exam and began his career as an aspiring defense attorney. Danny was on the right path towards a successful life, until one day one person took everything away.

I can still hear the words, “A brother and sister were found stabbed in their home” blasting through the speakers of the TV on that day in May. I had watched the story unfold on at least three different news stations, and I couldn’t stop searching the internet to find out more. All I knew was that Danny was in brain surgery, and the odds were against him.

It was his sister’s ex-boyfriend who pushed his way inside their house determined to kill. Danny heard his sister’s screams while getting ready for work and ran to her rescue. Because of this, he was stabbed nineteen times in the brain, the tendons in his right arm were severed, and he was kicked so hard that his spleen was lacerated. Now you might make the conclusion that this is the reason why I call Danny my “superman,” but there is more to the story.

One year and five surgeries later, Danny is fighting to get his life back. His days have switched from dealing with law cases to re-learning how to talk, read, and walk. He walks for two hours each day, despite a limp, and works on being able speak more words than “yes”. He has defied all the odds thus far, and I believe that in time he will be able to present his skills as a defense attorney.

Through all of this, Danny has changed my outlook on life. Before, I used to complain about simple tasks, such as going to work, but now I think of what Danny is doing at that moment. I know that he is working hard through the frustration and that gives me motivation. As I reflect back on my time with Danny, I notice that he has always inspired me, but I could never see it. Today, those inspirations are stronger than they have ever been. I believe that if Danny can do it then so can I.

I am fighting with Danny to get his life back by working hard at everything I do. Besides, every hero needs a sidekick, and I am ready to show Danny that I have all of the qualifications.

written by Meghan, Cousin to Danny

UPDATE: Danny begins therapy at the University of Michigan

An update for all our Friends and Family,

Danny left for The University of Michigan Aphasia Program (UMAP) on Saturday. It was a lovely drive, except when it decided to pour on us. It was still good, it wasn’t SNOW. (You know that four letter “S” word) We alternated between country music and good old rock and roll. We sang a bit and talked about Grandparents. Mostly about Grandpa O’Keefe’s laugh and smile. We decided he’d meet this new challenge with a smile and we’d try to be like Grandpa and keep a positive attitude.

Danny’s dog , Sally went with us. She was an angel. She went to her first restaurant. She just curled up and watched from under our table. I did have visions of her jumping up and turning a table or two over but she acted as a pro. She’s come a long way in just a few months. I know we have more work to do with her but the change has been encouraging.

The Marriot is very nice. It seems to be in a good location. The people there are very helpful. It took us a while to unload and unpack, after which we went to take a look around. The college area is really pretty cool. There are lots of little colorful shops and restaurants. It looked a bit like Moeller with all the blue and gold. It was a bit colder in Michigan than here. Michigan’s leaves were a bit more colorful than ours as their fall started earlier.

Danny’s program started this morning at 8:00 AM. He’ll go until 4:00PM every afternoon. He then will go to either Occupational Therapy or Physical depending on the day. For over 65 years, adults with language disorders have come to UMAP, to receive the highly individualized and intensive therapy they offer. Their national ranking is very high. We could only find three places in the nation that offer the program they offer. We’re keeping our fingers crossed and saying many prayers that this will be the help Danny needs.

It was really hard leaving him there, but he and Jim will be fine. (Just a mom thing, I guess.) Sally and I drove home and listened to the Bengal’s game on the way. That was nice, because I knew Danny and Jim were watching it on TV. The Bengal’s won! I know that made Danny happy.

I texted Danny last night and this morning. All is well.

Thank you for all the donations that made this possible. We couldn’t have done this without all of your hard work on the fund raisers and all of the donations. We’ve also had over 5,000 Marriott points donated for their stay. We’ve had money, therapy, food, gas cards, dog training, and fund raisers donated to help Danny. Your support and caring means so much.

The plan is for Danny to stay there with Jim until the first of Feb. (Jim is looking for remodeling jobs to keep him busy. If you have any Ann Arbor friends please let them know.) They will be coming home for Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. If this program seems a positive for Danny, we will try to keep him there as long a possible. So please help us spread the word, every little bit helps a great deal.

Thank you again, 

Kathy

How to Help: Donate Marriott Reward Points

Danny is participating in extensive therapy to help with his rehabilitation in Ann Arbor, MI. Danny and Jim will be staying for 6 months at a Marriott property.  You can help the family by donating available points!
Call Marriott Rewards at 800-450-4442 and ask to fill out a transfer form with the information below.  Sign and fax back (or send) and the points will be transferred.

Any points will help out! The hotel that the O’Keefe’s are staying at requires 20,000 points for a free night.  Our goal is to raise enough points to provide 2 weeks!

Part A: Enter your information and sign
Part B: Enter the number of point you would like to transfer
Part C: Provide the O’Keefe’s account information below
Acct # 163833973
Name: Kathy O’Keefe
Phone: 513.683.8234
Part D: Confirmation Number - 81839741

An Exciting Event and A Letter About Danny

On September 15th, a local chef is preparing a fantastic benefit dinner for Danny.  Several of you have registered but we need many more.  This is going to a fun-filled night of food, friendship and fundraising.  Please click on the following picture to register via paypal.

A letter about Danny:

Kathy, Danny's mom received a touching email from a friend of Danny's and received permission to post it here: 

 My story about Danny...

Danny was my friend when I felt I had none.  When I transferred to Dayton, it
was partially motivated by my difficulty to make strong friendships at Ohio
State.  I found myself two floors above Danny and Kevin Ash, and almost
instantaneously, I belonged somewhere.

If I could relive any part of my life, it would probably have to be that
sophomore year at UD.  Not because it was remotely perfect.  But it was what I
needed when I needed it.  It was easy to be friends with Danny.  We would listen
to music and talk.  Everyone knows how charismatic he is, and how unique his
sense of humor is.  He brought me in and enthusiastically introduced me to his
friends, many of which are my best friends now.  And he didn't do it to gain
something from me.  At the time, I didn't feel I had anything to offer.  He did
it because he's Danny.

I will always treasure my friendship with Danny.

KB

Upcoming Events

Fundraiser in Chicago

 
When:  Friday, September 7th 7:30PM
Where: Crossing Bar - 2548 North Southport, Chicago, IL 60657

There will be a drink package which you can purchase at the door as
well as some great raffle prizes and a 50/50 raffle. Please spread the
word to help make this fundraiser a success for Danny and his family.

Email kevinkirkpatrick@gmail.com with any questions.

Cooking with Caitlin Fundraising Event

Saturday, September 15th

Saturday, September 15th, together with The V Collective, Great Lakes Brewing Company, and YOU, Cooking with Caitlin is hosting a Third Thursday-type food event with a Caitlin-ed up menu of Danny O’Keefe’s favorites. From the gorgeous kitchen where everything Cooking with Caitlin is filmed, we will serve nine course of clever cuisine in bite-size proportions. Every sip and bite will be donated, and every cent will go to the family.

WHEN: Saturday, September 15th, 7-9ish pm
WHERE: The V Collective, 21 Whitney Drive, Milford 45150

100 tickets at $100 apiece. With at least $10,000, we will send the O’Keefes home with their bellies full. And just a couple days later they will leave for Michigan where the specialized therapy is.  Visit Cooking with Caitlin to register for this awesome event.

A Night at the Pub

Saturday, October 6

On May 6, 2011 Danny O’Keefe was involved in a terrible tragedy; he was victim of a violent assault. Danny has made great progress and will be traveling to Michigan to continue his road to recovery. There he will be receiving speech therapy and hopefully ongoing physical and occupational therapy. This is a great opportunity for Danny and his family, but insurance does not cover the funding needed for this. The O’Keefe’s are an amazing family, let’s take from their enthusiasm and help raise money to cover th e cost of these very important therapies for Danny’s recovery! Here’s How! Saturday, October 6, 2012 at Westy’s Pub (7820 Camargo Rd.) Please join us at 7pm for a night of fun, drinks, prizes and most importantly a great cause! A $10 donation at the door includes drink specials, door prizes, appetizers and your chance to help the O’Keefe’s! Raffle tickets will be sold throughout the evening and winners will be chosen at 11pm. All proceeds and donations will be directly gifted to Danny and his family. For further details regarding the family and donations please visit http://helptheokeefes.blogspot.com For further details on the event please email questions to nightatthepub@gmail.com or visit Night at the Pub's Facebook page.

A Letter from Scott

From Meghan

In short, Danny was my childhood.  And to think, even though we had known each other since we were each other’s first kiss in 6^th grade… our story really all began with one particularly humiliating high school happening.

When I was 15, I got asked to the homecoming dance by one of Moeller High Schools studliest bachelors.  I was thrilled.  The day was getting closer and closer and I had the perfect dress, the perfect shoes, and the perfect stick-on hair crystals that made me feel like Princess Di. (I was that girl.)  What wasn’t so perfect though, was my “dream date.”  He wasn’t calling me to tell me the plans for the dance that was very rapidly approaching.  I tried calling him a couple times to get some information and establish a friendship with him before the big day, since I didn’t know him very well.  He never called me back.  I brushed it off, dubbing my new beau to be as the elusive/spontaneous type. 

The night before the dance, I still hadn’t heard from him.  I went to a high school football game to take my mind off things.  He was there.  I saw a crowd of kids circling him- laughing at his jokes, trying to impress him with their wit, wishing they were him.  I walked up to the crowd. 

“Hey _______!”  I called out.  He turned my way, and upon seeing me, rolled his eyes to everyone else. 

“Yeeeeah?”  I froze. “What. Do. You. Want?”

“Are we still on for the dance tomorrow?  Should I come to your house or are you coming to mine?”  He took two steps in my direction.

“Jesus, just leave me alone, I’m with my friends!”  Everyone laughed at me.  I was humiliated and most probably spent the rest of the evening crying into a pillow.

The next day I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know if he was planning on me going with him or not.   The dance was rapidly approaching and I was pacing back and forth the house in my party dress and slippers.  I didn’t hear from him until a half hour before the dance. 

“Yo, be here in 30. We have a limo.” Click.  

I mean, SERIOUSLY?! 

I screamed with rage and (naturally) exploded into a fit of tears.  My mom came upstairs I dished about my entire situation.  We both decided that I absolutely should not go because he was rude and disrespectful to me.  I pretended to be brave rather than disappointed and terrified at what his reaction would be.

At 7:10 the phone rings again.

“Where are you? What do you mean you’re not coming?  Screw you, you suck anyways.  Going to be more fun with out you b----.”  More tears.  Hugs from Mom. The phone rings again. 

“Hey Meg, it’s Danny O’keefe.  I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”  Danny was in the limo with _______.  It could have been so easy for him to ignore the situation since he wasn’t involved, but he cared about me enough to check on me. He apologized for his friend.  He let me know that he thought I was a great person. That he cared about me. And he wished me to have a good night, despite everything.

I hung up the phone smiling.  So much so that my mom made a comment about how I was bipolar.  And that’s the power of a truly genuine and caring person, ladies and gentlemen- Danny O’Keefe.

We went on to become the most idyllic of high school sweethearts imaginable.  Danny would throw clumps of mulch at my window just to talk to me from below.  He set up a romantic dinner for me on our anniversary.  On my birthday, he brought me a caramel frappuccino (my fave) and a cake before he went to school.  He lit the candles with my parents and carried the cake up to my room singing while I was still sleeping.  We kept each other out of trouble.  Didn’t get into anything most high school kids get into because all we needed was each other’s company.  We motivated each other to be the best we could be. 

I remember studying for the SATs together in my living room.  It was tough!  But we were, and still are, determined to be huge successes in life.  When I found out that my parents were getting divorced, Danny was one of the only people who could really understand how much this pained me.  I have a couple other close friends who knew my family and were amazing.  But nobody knew them like Danny did.  They were his family too.  He cried with me.  He was angry with me.  He was and still is always there for me.  I was in Los Angeles at the time, but when Danny would see my mom out while she was going through the divorce, he’d give her a big hug, telling her that he loved her and was there for her. 

He’s always been such a good man.  And I’m honored to know him and have him in my life.  Just the other day my grandma went to see him.  It was her birthday and he gave her a present.  Even with everything he’s going through in his life right now, he’s still thinking of others. 

There are so many awesome stories that I have to tell about Danny, but I’m not going to go on and on because it will probably embarrass him.  I know this already has.  He can be a shy one! 

I know Danny doesn’t want to be put on a pedestal, having people call him a hero all the time.  He appreciates it, but he just wants to focus on improving.  Not reliving what happened last year.  Danny is an amazing person and he did an incredibly brave thing.  But he did what he had to do- for his sister and for himself.  Any person capable of the huge ability to love that Danny possesses would have done the same.  More than anything, Danny wants and needs to get better.  Nowish, if possible J. 

He wants his life back to normal.  He wants to be able to communicate everything he’s thinking.  He wants to be able to move freely.  Run again.  Drum again.  Practice law again.  He wants a normal life.  Marriage.  Kids. 

I know he will have this someday because he is determined, motivated, and optimistic.  But until things are back to normal, every day is exhausting and he is incredibly frustrated.  Every day is a struggle.  How couldn’t it be- having to work so hard for things that used to be automatic for him and working his entire life to achieve a certain level of success, only to have some evil man try and take it away from him?  Please help.  Please donate whatever you can to help my friend get his life back to normal.  No one deserves it more than him.  He’s tops J.

What a special young man

Written by Jenn


I was lucky enough to attend the University of Dayton with Danny and even luckier to be his next door neighbor during his junior year on Lowes Street. 440 and 442 Lowes were our houses but it always felt more like one big house because we all spent so much time together. From the first day that I met Danny, I knew he was special. There was just something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on but that I just knew and felt. As time went on, he repeatedly showed me just how special he was. 


I always admired Danny - probably more than he ever even knew. He was the kid with the giant heart who could be silly and have a great time - but also always kept things together with his studies and values. He lived life with a masterful balance. Danny was like a brother to me in college...I lived with 3 other girls next door to him and 7 other guys - so they always looked out for us...especially Danny. I was struggling with some things that year and any time that word got to him that I had had a crummy day - he would come leaping into my house to give me a giant bear hug. He always gave the BEST hugs! Although he always had something sweet and encouraging to say…with those hugs – he didn’t even need to speak. I could feel the love and genuine concern in the way he would hug me and look at me. Danny’s presence and love could turn my day around in seconds – and it very often did. 

I cannot think of a person less deserving of this tragic situation and more deserving of the love, support and help that he needs to get his life back. I could write for days on all of the ways and reasons that I love Danny – but it all comes down to the fact that he is an all around, and genuinely AMAZING person…to the core. It was always impossible to be around Danny and not smile and feel good. He helped me forget my troubles more times than I can count, and I want to help him forget his. I am so grateful to have the pleasure of calling Danny my friend. I cherish Danny and our friendship and am inspired by him on a daily basis. This hero needs our help to get his life back. He saved his sister’s life – and now he needs us to help save his!

Beautiful

Hello, this is Rick Pitcairn. As most of you know, I write poetry under the name Emery Greye. I want to tell you a story of a wonderful young man. His name is Danny O’keefe. He is a hero and is struggling each hour of every day, fighting to get his life back. The O’Keefe’s are a wonderful family, but the events of that horrific night last year, when Danny was severely injured running to the rescue of his sister being stabbed by a home intruder. The cost of the different types of therapy needed is more than most families can endure. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Check out "I support the O’keefe Family" on FB.

Here is Emery’s salute to Danny.

This poem is for a hero
Whose a brother and a son
A friend to all who know him
And doing "right" is number one

It's sometimes unbelievable
The hands in life we're dealt
There is no rhyme nor reason
For the good and bad we’ve felt

You threw yourself in harm’s way
Without a second thought
To protect and save someone you love
Your heroism can’t be taught

But since that day your life has changed
You would do it all once more
And Jump into the line of fire
You’d trade your life for sure

Now as you fight with valor
No matter what the cost
Your strengths an inspiration
As you regain what you have lost

May the Lord bless you and the love
of the Spirit Engulf and protect you. – Emery Greye

Batman

Written by Brian Moore:

I moved to Columbus for law school in August 2006 and met one of my best friends in Danny O'Keefe that same month.  I hardly ever recall the first instances of when I met anyone and as I've gotten older, I've become very bad with names. The first time I met Danny, however, for some reason just sticks in my mind. 

As First Year's (or 1L's) for short, we got herded around like cattle to all of these orientations and whatnot.  I'm not sure which particular one this was but it ended with a "picnic" in Capital's parking lot under a massive white tent.  I sat down at some table  and a couple seats over from me I noticed this blonde guy with a beat up John Deere hat and flannel shirt on.  I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, a John Deere hat.  That guy doesn't give a s#!@.  Sweet."  He had a spaced out look on his face and I got the impression he was like me, and didn't know anyone there.  I didn't talk to him directly but naturally all of the people at the table started the obligatory, "where are you from?" questions.  To my chagrin, everyone said something typical like Columbus or Worthington until it was my turn and I said Cincinnati.  I thought for sure I was going to be the only guy from Cincinnati in my class.  To my shock, Danny said Cincinnati too.  I remember we made eye contact then and we gave the knowing Cincinnati nod. 

I slid over to where he was sitting sometime later and like any good Cincinnatian, I started with the obligatory question, "Where'd you go to school?"  Someone from anywhere else on the planet would have responded with their college.  Danny knew better.  His response was "Moeller."  I said, "Cool.  I went to X."  Moeller and X are archrival, all guy high schools.  X and Moeller guys tend to hang out at mutual parties and have mutual friends.  Naturally, we had mutual friends but never actually knew each other.  Further, he knew friends of mine at Dayton and I knew friends of his at Miami.  Yet, we did not know each other.  We probably were even at the same parties in high school.  It took a law school ice breaker picnic 100 miles north in Columbus for our worlds to collide.

Once school started, I didn't see as much of him during the week because we were in different sections (meaning we had no classes together and the classes were at different times).  I remember the first time I ran into him in school was in the lobby.  I was talking with him when someone behind me called my name and I turned around to talk to that person.  I swear my head was not turned for more than 20 seconds and when I turned back, Danny was gone.  The next time I ran into him in school, it happened again.  I was talking with him on the second floor, I turned around for a half second, and by the time I turned back around, I saw only his backpack disappearing into a stairwell.  From that day on, I decided his nickname should be "Batman."  He did nothing to change my mind.  He'd show up in random places in the building as if appearing from no where.  He'd suddenly appear next to me in the library.  When he wasn't within my sight he seemed to appear in different places in the building according to different people I'd talk to.  It was seriously starting to freak me out.  And so his legend grew. 

He, Joe, and I all lived on our own as 1L's but we joined up as roomates for our 2nd and 3rd years.  I've never had more fun in my whole life than I had living in that house.  Legendary stories emerged from every single one of our nights out.  Sobriety was often in question.  Our group of friends developed to the point that we called ourselves "the Dynasty."  Each of us had a nickname; Danny's was "the Mystery."  We'd often think he was upstairs in his room doing work because we hadn't seen him all day and his car was there.  He'd actually be out somewhere else and just didn't tell anyone he was leaving or where he was going.  He was notoriously awful at answering cell phone.  Other times, his car would be gone and we'd htink he was gone but suddenly at 5 PM he'd emerge from his cave and just say "Sup Broskis."  Joe and I ceased trying to figure him out after a while.  He was just the Mystery.  And we loved him for it.

I suppose in some sick twist of fate, Danny lived up to both of his nicknames on May 6, 2011.  Danny was Batman, a superhero who sacrificed himself to save another's life.  Why of all days his car was in the garage that morning rather than on the street is a Mystery.  It sounds stupid, but I remember thinking exactly that when I was informed of the full details of what happened.  When I first heard of what happened is one of those moments like 9/11 where I will forever mark time.  I remember where I was and exactly what time it was.    It took me months to believe it was real.

By some miracle, he's still here with us now.  For that I'm eternally grateful.  I'm also grateful for any and all of you who can help the O'Keefe family and raise money so that he can get the rehab he needs to get all the way back to where he was.  I need to be able to tell him Moeller sucks and hear him say X sucks more back to me for my life to be complete.  Danny of course has higher standards than I do so he has a lot further to go.  With our help, he can get there.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for donating.

Danny

Danny’s days begin early. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Danny goes to Speech, Occupational, and Physical therapies. He is there from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Afterwards, he comes home for lunch, and then works on his own for a couple hours on his speech. When he is done, Danny and I do range of motion exercises on his right arm and hand. Once he is done with that, he takes a two hour walk. 

For extra support, a tutor comes on Monday and Wednesday late afternoons to help with his speech homework.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Danny mostly works independently with speech DVDs. However, a tutor comes again in the late mornings to work on his speech homework with him. Afterwards, he works with Sally and takes his walk. 

We just received a wonderful offer of massage therapy. Hopefully we can add this to his schedule.  

 Danny is signed up to go to the boot camp speech therapy program at the University of Michigan. He is signed up to go to two four week programs. We have talked to a previous patient of the program, and he told us about the wonders of this program. 

We are now working on getting the other two therapies, occupational and physical, while he is there. They do not see that as being a problem. 

While working on his hand and arm exercises, we recently learned that Danny’s right hand was also broken in May 2011. Today he went to a hand surgeon. 

Thankfully, we were told it healed on its own pretty well, and the tightness he is experiencing in his hand is mostly due to the tightness in his ligaments and tendons from the early surgery. So that was good news. 

We are still working on getting funding because, as you can imagine, these programs are expensive. 

Furthermore, we would like to get Danny additional funding for his necessary occupational and physical therapies.  

Please, during these efforts, remember to guard Kelly’s privacy. Remember she was terribly hurt too. She needs to move on and continue healing. 

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for the donations, warm thoughts, and much needed prayers. 

Your outpouring of love has been amazing. Thank you from all of us.

Love, 

Kathy

A Letter From Danny's Mother

On May 6, 2011, a man broke into my daughter's home. He forever changed all of our lives that day. He hid in the dark early morning hours, and forced his way in. This man attacked my daughter, stabbing her multiple times. Her brother, Danny, heard her screams, and ran to her aid, changing his life forever.


I'd tried all morning to get my daughter, and then my son, by phone, text, and email. It was very unusual not hearing from them. Concerned, I called my husband, who was working at a job site, and told him. I thought I was being paranoid, but he needed to go check on them. He proceeded to pack up his gear.

In the mean time, my children's one year old shepherd had barked for 6 hours straight. This puppy woke my daughter, Kelly. Her barking saved our son's life. My daughter called me, knowing she was sick and hurt, but not what was wrong. My daughter fought blood loss and multiple injuries to make that call. That call saved both of their lives. My youngest son, Kyle, got home, and I sent him too. He and his dad, Jim, got there right behind each other. I sent them into a nightmare, neither will ever forget. Things like this just don't happen in real life. It's too horrid to be real; but it is.

Sally - the beautiful dog that saved Kelly and Danny's lives

I've been told it's the worst crime scene the police and EMTs had ever seen. My two children laid in pools of their own blood for 6 hours before help arrived. They were stabbed in the brain, chest, neck, and arm. Once I heard from Jim, he told me to go to UC Hospital because my children would be aircared there.

Danny had to be resuscitated at sight. He barely made it to Mercy Fairfield Hospital. Aircare picked him up there. At that time, my daughter was already at UC Hospital, arriving by aircare. I was told she would have brain surgery, and then turned around and was told Danny had arrived and would be having brain surgery. Can you even imagine?

After receiving that news, I had to call my other son, Ryan (a US Army MP). He was stationed in Seattle after being deployed in Iraq for a year and a half. I had to tell him we didn't know if they would live or not, it didn't look good, and to get home as fast as he could.

Because this was a high profile case, we were told by law enforcement to not talk to anyone, and were placed on lock down. We were asked to maintain our silence. We did. We talked to no one, and just waited to see if our children would live.

Our daughter, Kelly, is an assistant prosecutor for Butler County. She is back to work, working to reclaim her life. We try to shield her from the curious. 


Because of our silence no one knows how badly our son, Danny, was hurt. Danny was stabbed 19 times in the brain. His right hand had multiple defense wounds.


His tendons were severed. He was kicked so hard his spleen was lacerated. Danny's injuries have been compared to Congress Woman Gabby Gifford. His skull was so crushed it took a year, minus 2 days, to get a skull cap replacement in. Danny has had 5 surgeries in the last year. Now we're fighting to get his life back.

Danny has aphasia, which means he has trouble talking, reading, and writing,devastating to a young man who had just finished law school. He wanted to be a defense attorney, to make a difference. Danny used to play the drums, but can no longer use his right arm. Danny walks with a limp, but he walks two miles every day.

Danny is our hero. He saved our daughter's life, but at a great cost. Danny loves sports. He played baseball, football, and soccer. He loved to read, and play the drums. He's lost it all.

His attacker was trained in the martial art tai chi. He brought a weapon called a skull crusher with him. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison for destroying a life and forever changing our family's lives.

I'm writing to ask for your help. Danny has Anthem insurance. They pay for 30 therapies a year. We got him on Medicaid, and they pay for 20 a year. Mercy Hospital is helping, but only for three therapies a week. We're told for Danny to get better he needs more, closer to 9 therapy sessions each week. He takes Speech, Occupational, and Physical therapy 3 times each week now. We're to send him to the University of Michigan UMAP program for speech. It's around $27,000 for 4-5 weeks of therapy, and his insurance doesn't pay for this. His doctors and therapists say he could need to go several times. Room and board for Danny and his caregiver (his dad will go with him) is not included in the cost. Neither is the cost of the other ongoing two therapies, physical and occupational.

I've never asked anyone for anything. My husband and I have worked since we were young teens, but I'm asking for help now. Can you help my son?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you can offer any help or
ideas it will be greatly appreciated. 


Love to all,
Kathy