Dan Hansen’s choice to live

Harold Hansen was irritated to see his 18-year-old son so belligerently refusing to answer the nurse’s questions. Little did he know that the next 15 minutes would change his son’s life forever.

What Dan Hansen remembers is the terrifying sensation of being unable to breathe. A ventilator relieved the crisis caused by the pulmonary collapse, but more would be needed if he were to survive. Duchenne muscular dystrophy — a muscle-wasting genetic disorder — had given him an ultimatum that day in February 1991: die peacefully or live on a machine, possibly unable to speak, for the rest of his life.

Dan’s parents knew what his decision would be before he wrote the words. “His first reply was ‘my life has been great,’” recalled his father. “Then he wrote ‘after the trach(eotomy) I’ll keep on fighting.’ So we had to hook him up.”

Today, 27-year-old Dan spends little time worrying about what he can’t do. He is often seen making his way around campus in his motorized wheelchair, complete with respirator, Nurse Marc Griffin by his side. He is on track to graduate with a degree in communications in May, and would like to become a motivational speaker.

“I saw how when I do speak it seems like people really pay attention because it’s hard to hear and it’s new for them,” Dan said in a low, breathy voice that peters out with his air supply.

But the message he imparts, born of an irrepressible optimism, holds his audience.

Virginia Dixon, an associate education professor, recalled inviting Dan to speak to a class of graduate students. “He has a message,” said Dixon. “He’s a very important reminder to all of us that everybody has goals and aspirations. What we do in education is work with students to help them meet their goals and aspirations.”

Dixon met Dan in a line to greet 1964 Olympic gold medal winner Billy Mills, who spoke at CSUS a few years ago. Overcoming hardships, the Native American runner’s theme, certainly touched a chord with Dan.

But that meeting was not the first time the two shared their characteristic winning spirit.

On a hot Sunday in July 1984, Mills ended his relay of the Olympic torch run at a corner of Capitol Mall. There, near the entrance to the Tower Bridge, the next torch carrier was ready to receive the flame. Mills lit the receiver’s torch, and Dan proudly rolled across the bridge, the torch supported by a pipe his father had rigged to his wheelchair. “The torch stood high, as if it were a beacon to the world,” he later wrote.

The Olympic torch has become a symbol of persistence to Dan. “It is not the trial itself that stops someone from living a good life, it is one’s loss of hope that gets in the way,” he writes in his life story, “Let the Flame Within Burn Brighter.” With restricted use of his right hand, Dan painstakingly typed the manuscript letter by letter over the past three years.

“It’s my goal to encourage as many people as I can to make the most out of life, to try to use their trials as a way to make them a stronger person,” Dan said in an interview recently. “It’s my goal to show the world that disabled people can have a good quality of life.”

Dan’s optimism begins its work at home.

“It helps to keep us going,” said his mother, Judy Hansen. “He’s always optimistic, we figure we’d better be.”

Caring for Dan is more than a full-time job for his parents, who are relieved by nurses only three or four times a week. Even then, much of the time he is away is spent doing chores in preparation for his return.

“We’ve put our life on hold,” said Judy. “Every single day revolves around Danny.”

Dan’s parents bathe, shave and dress him before moving him to his wheelchair each day. Duchenne muscular dystrophy usually claims its victims — all boys who have inherited the defective gene — within 15 to 19 years. Dan credits his longevity to his mother’s excellent care.

“He’s surprised all of us,” said Dan’s father. “He has a really strong will and always has something to look forward to.”

The prospect of seeing their son graduate from college is something the Hansens never expected years ago when Dan lay so near death. “It’s kind of unbelievable he’s been able to do this,” Harold said. “Even graduation from high school, and then graduation from American River College — it keeps getting more so as time goes on.”

The Hansens hope Dan will continue with his education.

“It’s the best thing for him — probably the only thing,” admitted his mother, knowing Dan would disagree, who sets his sights on a productive career.

“A lot of the time people assume that because I’m in a wheelchair I can’t have a life,” said Dan. “People are amazed I go to college, but muscular dystrophy has not affect on my mental capacity. Disabled doesn’t mean unable.”

His biggest challenge, Dan explained, is not his immobility, nor is it his reliance on a respirator.

“It’s the way people react to me. I know what I can do, but other people don’t. They make judgments about how they think my life is. That’s the hardest thing.”

Professor Dixon sees that as one of Dan’s greatest contributions to campus life. “That is in the best sense what education accomplishes — the opportunity to see more context rather than immediately become judgmental and go into stereotypical thinking.”

“I’m no different than anybody else,” said Dan. “I just have more opportunity to touch people’s lives.”

“Let the Flame Within Burn Brighter” is available at the Hornet Bookstore for $12.95.