01/07/2022
For those of you who were lucky enough to meet Drew Wajnert during our days at Sweet Dreams Cafe, well then... you were lucky enough! Drew always had a smile or a hug to offer just about anyone. Drew was involved in a terrible car accident last year and was left with an incredible challenging road to recovery ahead of him. Sharing a beautifully written post about Drew and his battle, along with links to a GoFundMe setup in his name to help with his recovery costs, as well as a link to the news article about his accident. Thank you for keeping Drew in your thoughts and prayers. Next time you hear a Phish song, send him good vibes! We miss you, Drew-man!
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Where do I start with Drew Wajnert?
Literally one of the best humans I know. My music friends can thank him, and his company Phanphest Enterprises for booking most of the cool bands I ever saw for the first time at venues like The Saint in Asbury Park and Wonder Bar, right in my backyard. The first time I saw Jimkata, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Big Something, Dopapod, TAUK, Aqueous, Twiddle, Kung Fu -THE BAND and Papadosio were all at a show Drew, and PhanPhest, booked in Asbury Park. Usually to crowds of less than 50 People. It was the coolest.
Unfortunately for the local music scene, he moved to Colorado in 2016. But fortunately for Drew, he loved it out there. Got to see all kinds of cool live music, and I even flew out to see him in 2017 when Phish played at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and he was kind enough to pick me up from the airport, and let me stay at his house the night before the concert, free of charge. Was great to see Drew again, and all the memories of all the shows we'd been at together came flooding back.
Drew, as some of you know, was in a really bad car accident on March 2nd, 2021. He was driving home, taking Lyft rides along the way, when he was hit from behind by a drunk driver doing 85 MPH, pushing him into a guardrail at over 50 mph. His spine was fractured, and Drew was left unable to move at all.
You can read a little more about that here:
https://www.businessinsider.com/lyft-driver-hospitalized...
His friends and the people who loved him responded. We all gathered together and were able to raise almost $26,000.00 on GoFundMe!!!! Unfortunately, that amount only covers about 5 days in his current facility.
I'll share the link to that here in case any good hearted souls feel inclined to donate:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/drew-wajnert-recovery-fund...
Drew hasn't stood on his own since. BUT HE IS MAKING PROGRESS! He's on his 9th different hospital setting over the last 9 months, and the hospital journey has taken him all the way out to North Carolina and away from the Rocky Mountains he loves so much. But last week, as you can see in the photo below, Drew was able to stand up for the first time in almost 9 months. He was able to do that because of the place he's in right now. It's a Rehabilitation clinic in the Raleigh, NC area called "WakeMed Rehabilitation" They have a machine called a "Vector Machine" which you can see in the picture below, that allowed them to take almost 100 lbs of Drew's body weight off of his feet, enabling him to stand up, and even pivot onto the bed, for the first time in ages. He's making great progress, and this amazing facility that costs about $5000 a day is proving to be worth the money. His muscles are badly atrophied from 9 months confined to a bed and a motorized wheelchair, and he's got a long road ahead of him.
Here's the problem: Drew's insurance can only cover him there until this Monday, and he is going to need AT LEAST 2 more months of this Vector Machine to have a chance at getting strong enough to stand and walk on his own. On Monday, he goes back to a place called "Learning Services" in Raleigh - where they do as much as they can to help him - but they don't have a vector machine, which means no more progress on getting up out of bed and the chair for now.
The settlement that he already recieved from the driver's insurance is only enough to cover a month in the hospital at most. The guy who hit him is still in jail, and it doesn't look as if his situation is going to allow him to help Drew, even if that was something he wanted to do, or was able to.
If some person or organization that I tagged can help this get more attention, great. I'm going to tag some more. Who knows if anyone can help? Trying anything I can at this point for a buddy who would absolutely do this for me in this situation.
Let's help a Phan get on their feet again.
Drew was in a severe crash about 2 weeks ago. He was struck from behind by a drunk drive… Jennifer Cornish needs your support for Drew Wajnert Recovery Fund
