28-Year-Old Woman Left Paralyzed From the Waist Down After Piano Falls On Her

Danielle Drummond, 28, recalled the tragic accident in an interview with Cleveland, Ohio CBS affiliate WOIO.

She explained that she recently moved to Eugene, Oregon from Cleveland after wanting a “fresh start.” On April 12, Drummond said she went to help a friend move a grand piano when the accident occurred.

According to WOIO, while she and her friend were carrying the heavy instrument, she bent over to put something underneath it to stabilize the piano, and it slipped out of her friend’s hands.

“She dropped like a whole upright grand piano on me, and it severed my spinal cord,” Drummond recalled. “Now, I’m paralyzed from the waist down.”

Following the accident, she underwent emergency surgery, and was told she’d have to face the new reality of living in a wheelchair.

When asked how she’s feeling mentally, Drummond said, “I’m trying to keep like in high spirits because I know this is my life now, but it’s hard.”

“As of right now, I need a lot more physical therapy. I need to rebuild my strength,” she continued, before also sharing her hopes for others who may be going through something similar.

“I hope that people who are going through this don’t give up,” she said, adding that she’s trying to stay “hopeful.,”

Last month, her sister, Rosie Hayne, created a GoFundMe to help “provide financial support for her future medical needs.” Since its launch, the fundraiser has reached over half of its $25,000 goal.

According to Hayne, as noted in the GoFundMe’s description, after Drummond was “rushed to the ER” following the accident, she underwent “emergency surgery to stabilize her spine and was told she will never walk again.”

Hayne wrote that her sister had a T11 and T12 fracture as well as a “fusion” from T10 L2.

“Our hearts are completely broken,” she said, adding that her “baby sister means the world” to her.

Hayne said her sister “would without hesitation stop to help one in need,” calling Drummond “such a strong and wise woman, down to heart and humble.”

“Her aura reflects her beautiful soul,” she added.

Hayne later shared an update, posting a photo of her sister in a hospital wheelchair, and wrote that her sister — who was living in a van before the accident — is “going to need one of her own, not to mention a home to keep it in.”

After asking people to “share the campaign” to “keep up the momentum,” Hayne said that her sister “wants to make it clear that she is not expecting to ever walk again. She has accepted the reality of her situation. But she has an amazing spirit and overall positive outlook, focusing on what she can do.”

Hayne gave another update while speaking to PEOPLE earlier this week, telling the outlet she and her family are “currently in the process of trying to figure out where she will live after her rehabilitation.”

“I would love for her to come back and live in Cleveland, but that would be her decision completely, as she does have family here and none in Oregon,” she said, adding that her sister is in “great spirits,” and is “gaining the knowledge she needs to thrive independently.”