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SPRING 2020 | 35
the next 10 days, yet Rizzo remained in a
vegetative state.
On Day 27, something remarkable
happened. As Tracy Rizzo was wiping the
sweat off her son’s forehead, he raised his
arm. Tracy put the cloth in Dylan’s hand
and told him to wipe it himself. He did.
"I was shocked, as I knew his body
was moving, but we didn't know if he
was actually causing the movement
himself," said Tracy.
Rizzo soon began to show eye
movement and reactions to being pinched.
On Day 44, a second MRI revealed
that Rizzo’s damaged wiring had begun
to show signs it was healing.
On Day 60, while still in a minimally
conscious state, Rizzo was transferred to
Spaulding, where he would stay for 148
days before spending two months at a
rehab center in New Hampshire where
he began using a walker and was able to
climb a few stairs.
The day he left Spaulding, Rizzo
spoke his first words since the accident.
"That was the first time since I
became aware of what had happened
to me," Rizzo said. "To this day, I don't
remember anything about that day
at all. Basically I lost an entire year
of memories as I couldn't remember
anything from six months before the
accident to about seven months after."
Rizzo is permanently disabled,
that will likely never change. He takes
multiple medications and requires
therapy and help from his parents in
navigating his way through each day.
Despite the many obstacles he faces
every minute of every day, Rizzo’s road to
recovery continues.
He returned home to Lynnfield in
September 2011. Upon entering the
house, he looked around, smiled and said,
“I’m home.”
A little more than a year after the
accident, another MRI confirmed that
some of the damage to his brain would
be permanent and never recover. Again
Rizzo defied the odds. Nine months after
returning home, Rizzo was able to walk up
the stairs into his bedroom for the first time.
He continues to need speech and
cognitive therapy, but has resumed
much of his life he enjoyed prior to
the accident: going out with friends,
helping his father Steve on construction
projects, enjoying an occasional beer or
two, keeping his DJ skills fresh. He also
helps out as a volunteer assistant coach
of the Lynnfield boys and girls track and
cross-country teams, much like he did
before the accident. His duties range
from helping the jump and hurdles teams
with their technique and providing vocal
support and encouragement. He rides the
bus to meets with the team and rarely
misses a meet or practices.
Throughout the ordeal, Rizzo's
family kept the world informed on his
progress, issuing daily updates via his
"Jump High Stay Strong" Care Pages at
Mass General.
Rizzo said he has read every post.
"They were so inspirational and
incredible the way everyone was helping
me," he said. "I knew that I could never
quit trying to get better every day. My
only option was to keep working and I
know there is no stopping me."
Rizzo said he is the same person he
was before the accident. But one thing
has changed: He has become a neat freak.
"I used to be a real slob, a real slob
with my stuff all over the floor in my
room," Rizzo said. "Now, I love being
neat and hate messy things. It started in
the ICU when I couldn't talk and hated
not being able to tell people to clean
things up."
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