Suddenly disabled, D’Andrea invests his money in hope and ‘trust’

Stem cells, disabled access are paralyzed man’s focus

Dan D’Andrea is young enough and hopeful enough to believe that, yes, he might someday walk again.

And he’s betting a million dollars on his chances.

“I want my old quality of life back,” D’Andrea said. “I want to walk again.”

The former construction worker, paralyzed from the chest down in a 2004 construction accident, is starting the Daniel D’Andrea Charitable Trust with an eye toward the funding of promising new stem cell research into spinal cord injuries.

Of course, D’Andrea is hedging his bets a bit — and is the first to admit it –by targeting a second cause — better access for the disabled to parks and public buildings. Continue Reading »