By Taylor Miles

Source: Wicked Local Somerville 

Somerville — When Danny Fitzpatrick lost his eyesight in a near-fatal car accident five years ago, he wasn’t sure he would ever see again. But thanks to a recently developed stem cell research-based treatment exclusive to China, Fitzpatrick may soon see his girlfriend and guide dog for the very first time.

“Sight for Danny Music Fest,” a fundraiser that will be held at The House of Ireland, just outside of Somerville’s Davis Square on July 25 — his birthday — will help raise money for $30,000 treatment in Beijing. The treatment consists of six to eight stem cell injections into his spinal cord over a six-week period, during which Fitzpatrick will be forced to lay flat on his stomach. The spinal injections should help “jumpstart” his optic nerves, allowing him to see again.

“If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m going to try anyway; otherwise I would go the rest of my life wondering, ‘What if?’”

Fitzpatrick, a resident of Ireland who has done several local DJ gigs throughout Boston, said he first heard about the treatment last March when a young girl received a similar treatment in China and was able to see for the first time.

“I am kind of nervous to get it done,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s going to be a shock to my system if I can see again.”

The treatment has a 98 percent success rate, Fitzpatrick said. He said he has spoken with a Worcester resident, a paraplegic who went through the treatment, and found it tremendously beneficial.

Brendan Crawley, a Somerville resident and good friend of Fitzpatrick’s, brought Fitzpatrick to the U.S. for the first time last year after meeting him in a bar in Carrickmacross, Ireland. Crawley said he was inspired by how optimistic Fitzpatrick was even after going through so much.

“For a man who was cut down in the prime of life with the loss of sight, it’s unbelievable how positive he is and how optimistic he is for the future,” Crawley said. The doctors in China have looked at Fitzpatrick’s MRI and think they can really help him.”

Crawley said he had no idea Fitzpatrick was blind the first time he met him, until Fitzpatrick asked Crawley to show him where the bathroom was, which he said really threw him off.

Fitzpatrick has been in Somerville with Crawley since March and heads back to Ireland July 27, a few days after the fundraiser, to continue his studies in psychology and sociology. He hopes to become a counselor for trauma victims, and is motivated by his own experience dealing with the consequences of his accident. He said he hardly received any counseling aside from his family and friends, which was really hard for him.

“When I came out of the hospital, there was no counselor to help me, just friends and family,” Fitzpatrick said.

The event will include performances by Johnny Come Lately, Ronan Quinn’s band, Paddy Saul’s band, Dave Johnston and more. All donations will go directly to support Fitzpatrick’s trip and treatment.

“It’s really been a community thing,” Crawley said. “Everybody’s doing it for Danny. The whole Somerville community, whether Irish or American, everyone’s mustering in, trying to pay for the trip.”

 

Want to help?
If you can’t make it to the fundraiser but want to help, you can send donations to the Danny Fitzpatrick Sight Restoration Fund, East Cambridge Savings Bank, 285 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA 02143.