Christine DeLorenzo '99 tells the story of the family friend who visited Adam Dansiger '00 while he was recovering from injuries he sustained in an October car accident.
The friend reminded Dansiger that she had known him since he was eight.
And then he corrected her. They had really met when he was six.
Dansiger, his memory, intelligence and personality intact, said he may return to the College this summer, or more likely this fall.
"I can't walk yet," he said. "But I'm feeling okay."
Dansiger said he is looking forward to the day he can leave JFK Hartwyck at Oaktree Nursing, Convalescent and Rehabilitation Center in Edison, N.J. where he is receiving physical, occupational, speech and recreational therapy.
"The fact that I came back mentally rather than physically first really isn't a good sign," he said. "I can see the people here, and I can mentally make a description and I don't think it's good."
Dansiger's mother, Gail Dansiger, attributed her son's recovery to his stamina and to the support of his friends at the College.
"His fraternity brothers up at school and his friends at school have not let him down," she said.
A catalyst for Dansiger's recovery was a recent visit with New York Mets relief pitcher John Franco, who saw Dansiger while he was in the hospital and invited him to Opening Day at Shea Stadium, Gail Dansiger said.
When Dansiger went to the stadium as Franco's guest, he was wheeled onto the field, where he was introduced to the crowd. His name was displayed on the field's scoreboard and the crowd gave him a standing ovation, according to the Associated Press.
Gail Dansiger said the meeting helped her son to awaken from an "emerging coma."
"It's the first thing I can remember, really," Dansiger said.
Dansiger has lost hearing in his right ear and might need surgery to improve his vision in his right eye, although doctors expect the eye to strengthen without surgical intervention, Gail Dansiger said.
She said his right side is still weak, but may improve with therapy.
Dansiger's recovery comes just seven months after he suffered massive head injuries when he was thrown from his 1991 Mazda Navajo sports utility vehicle while driving south on I-89.
Vermont State Police did not identify the vehicle's other two passengers, who sustained minor injuries.
Doctors at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center did not expect Dansiger to survive the crash, Gail Dansiger told The Dartmouth in January.
"In the beginning it was really bleak. We weren't sure how much would come back," DeLorenzo said.
