Martina McBride and Husband John Help Music Student Walk Again

Through fundraisers put on through the McBride family and their close colleagues, the family raised more than $30,000 for the Franciscos and MusiCares even stepped in to add another financial boost for the family.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Martina McBride and Husband John Help Music Student Walk Again
Martina McBride and Husband, John; Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for T.J. Martell

After experiencing life-changing injuries from a horrific biking accident, David Francisco is learning how to walk again thanks to the support of Martina McBride, her husband John, and his friends.

The music student completely severed his spinal cord after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Nashville more than one year ago. Although his parents in Knoxville, Tennessee, rushed to his side as soon as they received the news, it was McBride’s husband and Francisco’s teacher, John, that kept him company following the tragic incident.

Quickly learning that Francisco would not have function of his legs from that moment on, he only sought out motivation rather than pity to make his life worthwhile despite his setback. Through fundraisers put on through the McBride family and their close colleagues, the family raised more than $30,000 for the Franciscos and MusiCares even stepped in to add another financial boost for the family.

Francisco gratefully accepted the charitable donations and began treatment at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where they specialize in intensive rehab routines for spinal cord and brain injuries. Through a month of exhaustive recovery, Francisco noticed a movement in his foot and it all went uphill from there.

Due to the generosity of McBride and their close-knit community, Francisco was able to regain motion in the majority of his legs and even start back up at John McBride’s Blackbird Academy to educate himself further in the musical world. After suffering through what seemed like the worst imaginable moment of his life, Francisco only looks toward optimism to guide him through.

“I do sometimes wonder how much I’m banking on continual improvement. If it was to stop, would it change my attitude? But I’m gonna keep trying and see what happens,” he said to The Tennessean.

Francisco soon plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue music and be with his girlfriend.