Late last month, Bird Piché was rushed to the hospital for emergency spinal surgery after Trophy Eyes frontman John Floreani stage-dived into the audience at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, New York. In a very good news update, Piché is expected to make a “full recovery” from her injuries.
In a new interview with NBC News, Piché, a longtime Trophy Eyes fan, revealed that she’s regained the use of her arms and some of her leg function but hasn’t recovered the full use of her fingers and toes. She currently has control over her basic movements – “gross motor skills” – and hopes to regain “fine motor skills” as she recovers.
“My arms, besides my hand dexterity [are] almost fully there. My fingers don’t have full movement,” Piché told NBC News, adding that she “didn’t expect” to have “any recovery” following the incident.
Reflecting on Floreani’s stage dive, she recalled from her hospital bed, “It was, like, his body and my neck,” describing the incident as “a crowd-surfing thing.” “It’s pretty typical at these kinds of shows,” Piché added.
Piché said that she feels “very optimistic” about her recovery and will enter physical rehabilitation to assist in re-developing her motor skills. Doctors predict a “full recovery of everything.”
Piché and her family declined to comment on whether they were considering civil action against the band.
After the incident, Trophy Eyes posted on social media to address what happened and linked to a GoFundMe created by Piché’s mother’s best friend.
“As the result of a tragic accident on the night of April 30th, a Trophy Eyes fan was injured at our Buffalo, NY show,” the band wrote. “We elected to immediately shut down the show as John accompanied them to the hospital with their family.”
Stating that the situation had “shaken” them to their core, Trophy Eyes wrote that they were helping Piché navigate “this difficult time”.
Trophy Eyes donated $5,000 USD ($7,558 AUD) to the GoFundMe – not a small amount for an Australian band touring the US and playing in the 237-capacity Mohawk Place.
The GoFundMe stated that Piché suffered a “catastrophic spinal cord injury” after the stage diving incident. The statement continued, “It is still too early to know what her prognosis is, but after leaving the hospital, she will need to go to a rehab facility. She will obviously not be able to work during this time.”
Trophy Eyes recently announced their largest-ever Australian tour with support from the UK’s Boston Manor and fellow Aussies Towns. The tour arrives after the band released their fourth album, Suicide & Sunshine, last year.
