Danielle Spencer — the beloved smart-aleck little sister Dee (right) on the hit ’70s sitcom “What’s Happening!!” — is in the fight of her life against a hidden brain injury caused by a horrific car accident that left her in a coma 41 years ago! Stunned pals told a source for The National ENQUIRER. Spencer, now 53, rebounded from the accident and went on to become a respected veterinarian, but she recently began experiencing crippling headaches — and then slipped into unconsciousness. “Doctors did emergency brain surgery, removing a bleeding hematoma that formed due to the car accident,” said a friend. Read on for details of Danielle’s condition, and click here for more news of ’70s child stars….
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Danielle has had several brushes with death, beginning with the tragic 1977 car accident, in which her courageous actor stepfather, Tim Pelt, sacrificed his life to shield her body. Despite his efforts, she shattered an arm, a leg and her pelvis, and spent six days in the ICU.
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Years later, injuries from that accident led to spinal stenosis and paralysis in Danielle’s legs. Then in 2014, she learned she had breast cancer after a self-exam revealed lumps in her right breast.
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A biopsy confirmed the worst, and Danielle — shown with "WH!!" co-stars Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson in 2007 — opted for a preventive double mastectomy. According to Danielle’s friends, the brain surgery “was a success and she must now heal and recover.”
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But the process won’t be easy because of her bout with cancer and spinal cord injury. Her loved ones said she faces “a long recovery in physical rehabilitation.”
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Photo credit: Files
Despite making serious money doing commercials and acting as a kid, Danielle is feeling the financial pinch, friends said. Pals are
raising cash online to “help with treatment and medication.”
Danielle has had several brushes with death, beginning with the tragic 1977 car accident, in which her courageous actor stepfather, Tim Pelt, sacrificed his life to shield her body. Despite his efforts, she shattered an arm, a leg and her pelvis, and spent six days in the ICU.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Years later, injuries from that accident led to spinal stenosis and paralysis in Danielle’s legs. Then in 2014, she learned she had breast cancer after a self-exam revealed lumps in her right breast.
Photo credit: Getty Images
A biopsy confirmed the worst, and Danielle — shown with "WH!!" co-stars Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson in 2007 — opted for a preventive double mastectomy. According to Danielle’s friends, the brain surgery “was a success and she must now heal and recover.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
But the process won’t be easy because of her bout with cancer and spinal cord injury. Her loved ones said she faces “a long recovery in physical rehabilitation.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Despite making serious money doing commercials and acting as a kid, Danielle is feeling the financial pinch, friends said. Pals are
raising cash online to “help with treatment and medication.”
