New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul donates to hospital burn unit

Posted on: March 17, 2016

Source: ESPN
Author: Dan Graziano

 

Jason Pierre-Paul continues to meet the aftermath of his life-altering fireworks accident head-on.

The New York Giants defensive end, who suffered severe burns and other serious injuries (including the loss of his right index finger) last July 4, is visiting New York Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday along with CareOne Management to present a $20,000 check to the hospital’s burn unit and spend time talking to burn survivors.

Pierre-Paul is a pending free agent who may or may not return to the Giants next season. But since his return from the accident in November, he has been consistently gregarious and engaging, and has openly answered all questions about his condition and some about the accident itself. Pierre-Paul had surgery after the end of the season to try to improve the flexibility in his middle finger, which had been rendered largely immobile due to the skin graft procedures required to repair burns on it.

He’s been the butt of a lot of jokes since the accident, and he understands why. But it’s always important to remember that you can’t go back in time and undo your mistakes. You can only control how you operate in the wake of those mistakes, and Pierre-Paul has been a model of how to do that.