Since 1900, an average of 10 boxing deaths have occurred each year, with 80 percent of those casualties resulting from head and neck injuries. In September of 2015, David ‘Dynamite Davey’ Brown died in a hospital from brain bleeding that news networks are now reporting could have been prevented. In 2015, 24 year old Prichard Colon from Puerto Rico sustained a serious brain injury and remains in a vegetative state.
So, after Daniel ‘Twitch’ Franco sustained a serious brain injury in the ring last month, his father and trainer, Al Franco, knew the odds were against his son. “When we were in the hospital when it first happened, I was already thinking, ‘He’s not going to be coming out of this,’ because very few do,” he told the Orange County Register. “And when they do, most of them are in a vegetative state or just not good. I didn’t tell my wife that or my family that, but when we were in that hospital, that’s what was going through my head.”
But last month after watching Daniel fight for his life through two surgeries and a medically induced coma at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Al posted this on his son’s GoFundMe:
“He gave us 2 thumbs up when asked if he could hear us. We asked him to wink once for yes and twice for no. He followed instructions and is aware of what’s going on.”
Daniel did make it, and he continues to beat the odds and prove himself to be a fighter outside of the ring, and he isn’t taking a minute of it for granted either.
“This happens to a lot of fighters and it doesn’t end up so well,” Daniel told the Orange County Register this week. “I’m glad to be walking and talking. I’m glad to be able to talk to my family and spend time with them.”
This week Al and the rest of Daniel Franco’s family were waiting in the boxer’s home state of California to cheer him on as his air ambulance landed. He is now at Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare where he starts his next fight, his rehabilitation.
“Daniel is a true warrior in and outside of the ring,” said Angel MedFlight’s Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Bess. “He told our team that he will always be a fighter, and we couldn’t agree more. All of us at Angel MedFlight are proud to have been a part of his journey to recovery and look forward to watching him continue to break the odds.”
Join the Fight
Want to support Daniel and his recovery? Donations can be made on his GoFundMe page where his father Al posts regular updates.
