After a car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down, Newtown resident Michael DeLong was determined to recover and started a business in the process, writes JD Mullane for the Bucks County Courier Times.  

DeLong was driving with his friends when their car crashed, resulting in a fracture in his neck at the C6 vertebra. 

Doctors told DeLong he would likely be in a nursing home for the rest of his life. 

He had been on track to begin as an HVAC tech, but his injury forced him to return home. 

“When you lose your job, it really does hurt inside,” DeLong said. “You feel like you don’t have a place. Like everyone else is working, everyone else is going out and you’re just staying at home, like you’re a child or something.” 

While at home, DeLong’s passion for gardening, inspired by his grandmother, returned and he soon had the idea to start pickling vegetables. 

He eventually launched his own pickle brand called “The Crippled Pickle,” growing the products himself and labeling the jars. 

His four flavors of pickles and his line of jams can be purchased at Newtown Hardware House on S. State Street. 

While DeLong’s recovery has been long and challenging, he’s since regained movement in his legs and can walk with the support of a forearm crutch. 

Read more about Newtown’s Michael DeLong, his inspiring recovery, and his pickle business in the Bucks County Courier Times.  

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