You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down – Frank Iusi

by Cathy Cuff-Coffman

When one thinks about Frank Iusi’s spinal cord injury (SCI) travails, the 1997 one-hit wonder TubThumpin’ by ChumbaWumba can surface:

♪ I get knocked down, but I get up again ♪

♪ You’re never gonna keep me down ♪

♪ I get knocked down, but I get up again ♪

♪ You’re never gonna keep me down ♪

Frank Iusi defines himself as a husband, a father of four boys, an avid hunter, a law enforcement professional, and a youth football coach.

He does not define himself by what ails him. For the past 15 years, illness and injury have plagued Iusi, almost daring him to throw in the towel.

Cancer Tries…To Knock Iusi Down

The year was 2009. Frank (then 29 years old), his wife Sammi, and their young son Franky, then age 6, had just finished moving into their new home. Frank’s career with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s law enforcement division took off, and Sammi’s career as a recon analyst with BNY (Bank of New York Mellon) in the Pittsburgh area was solid.

And Sammi learned she was pregnant. Life was good for the Iusi’s.

“I noticed a lot of bruising on Frank,” said Sammi. “There were way more bruises than he would normally have from moving.”

Iusi, who had already been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease (another knock-down), saw his endocrinologist. She said those bruises would not have anything to do with Graves’ Disease.

The endocrinologist, a new doctor for Iusi, dove deep into his medical history and noticed that Iusi’s white blood cell counts were high a year before. “Nobody flagged it,” Sammi Iusi says.

On a re-check of Frank’s blood, his white blood count was treacherously high. Iusi had a bone marrow aspiration, and the results came back: Iusi had chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

CML is a chronic condition with no cure. Iusi has been on four different oral chemo medications during the past 15 years. It also causes him to have chronic pain. “But that never stopped him,” says Sammi.

…♪ But He Gets Up Again ♪

Frank and Sammi grew their careers, their family, and their commitment to the community. “I was working in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Governor’s Office for Homeland Security,” explains Frank. “I worked with the Federal Protective Service to ensure all its federal security, and I was in charge of the state of Pennsylvania for all the federal security.”

Sammi continued her career as a recon analyst and was promoted to senior status. She was also the “woman in charge” at the Iusi household, as she and Frank added two more sons to their family.

♪He Gets Knocked DOWN! ♪

Admittedly, Iusi says he led a “rough-and-tumble” life and started noticing “neck issues.” “My neck hurt, I had ‘pins-and-needle’ sensation,” he says, “and I did have a couple of accidents” that he says he ignored.

Iusi described one of those accidents: “I fell, hitting my neck backward on the back of my steps. The funny thing was that I didn’t notice anything wrong.”

But then, weeks later, his arms became numb. “During a month, I deteriorated until I was literally on the ground, army crawling to get to the car to get to the hospital because I couldn’t function.”

He recounts the day when the most significant “knockdown” happened in the summer of 2018.

“I was turkey hunting with my 14-year-old Landon. We were out in the woods about 40 minutes from home,” recalls Iusi. “And, I said, ‘We can’t go any further. Something’s wrong with daddy.’”

“As soon as I turned around,” he continues, “I collapsed because all my vertebrae were pushing so hard on the spinal canal.”

Blown Away

Iusi’s spinal cord was compressed in the cervical vertebrae from C1 to C5. He shares, “Those vertebrates were blown, just totally.” He says the surgeons at St. Margaret’s Hospital did a “quick repair,” accessing the vertebrae from the front of his neck.

“That did nothing,” he says. Three days later, he was given another diagnostic MRI and was back in surgery, this time for a C1 to C4 fusion with rods and six screws. He stayed at St. Margaret’s for two months to facilitate healing and physical therapy.

A month after he got home, Iusi suddenly couldn’t pick his chin off his chest. “I had no strength to hold it up. Everything that was done had failed. “The pins popped, and the fusion cracked. So basically, I was sitting there like a bobblehead with no strength,” he says.

Iusi was referred to Dr. David Hamilton, a neurosurgeon at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. The newest MRI indicated Iusi’s spinal cord injury compression was traveling down his spine “like a domino effect.” In addition to his cervical injury, his thoracic vertebrae were involved. “It was the same thing as before. I could hardly walk,” he explains.

And he was in a lot of pain.

♪ Fourth Time: Back Up Again ♪

In November of 2021, Iusi underwent his fourth spinal surgery under the care of Hamilton, who also sees patients at UPMC Mercy.

According to Iusi, Hamilton needed to remove his damaged vertebrae and construct new support with cages, rods, and around 60 screws.

Iusi then spent eight weeks at UPMC Mercy’s inpatient rehabilitation hospital. “I had to start from scratch,” he says. “I learned how to get my speech going, how to use my legs, how to start standing up, and the basic necessities.”

And now we’re here. In September 2024, Iusi had a spinal stimulator implanted to help mitigate intense chronic pain.

Iusi’s SCI qualifies him for full disability payment. However, the injury took him in the prime of his life from a law enforcement career he loved. “I was making a comfortable mid-six-figure salary. disability is a fraction of that.”

A Missing Piece

“Sometimes I miss doing a lot of the work, and I was close with a lot of the guys,” he says, somewhat wistfully.

“I was an instructor for several different defensive tactics,” he explains. “I taught rules and regulations of federal facilities with vulnerability assessments.” He was on the go, traveling the Commonwealth and interacting with a cross-section of Pennsylvanians.

It’s a huge adjustment, mentally and emotionally, for your life to change that drastically. “There’s such psychological trauma because your life changes. Everything’s done,” says Iusi. “You’re like an infant; you must be cared for.”

Frank says his wife Sammi is the glue that holds everything together. “My wife is my rock. She’s my Guardian Angel. When I was at my lowest, she steered the ship because I would have crashed. I would have gone down that way to the devil—no doubt about it.”

“And then the strain you have on your family,” Iusi continues. “I’m a guy making great money, worked hard all the time, have children, and in the prime of my marriage…” he trails off.

Iusi makes his point. An SCI is a lifelong injury that continually knocks you down…even when you get back up.

And yet, like so many SCI warriors, Iusi mentally sets that aside and does his best with what he’s got.

♪ Iusi Got Back Up Again! ♪

“My 14-year-old, Landon, has done so well in high school, plays football, and he’s a freshman,” says Iusi. Landon was recently promoted to the varsity football team; Frank was Landon’s coach until he was 10.

But that’s not the only good football news in the Iusi household this season. “My phone rang. The caller said, ‘This is Springdale High School and Junior High. We’re looking for Frank; We have a football coach job open.’”

Iusi, a functional paraplegic, is now the head coach for Springdale Jr. High Football.

“I coach youth sports. I never thought in a million years somebody would give me a call and say, ‘Would you like to coach our school?’”

You can’t knock the Iusi family down.

They will get right back up again.