Benefit concert organized for Dallas musician who became a double amputee

DALLAS - The Dallas music scene is helping one of its cherished members after he suffered a crippling accident over the summer.

Musician Jeff Saenz became a double amputee after he came into contact with live wires that fell in his yard in June. He spent more than two months in the hospital. The incident took away his ability to play.

Saenz has spent decades performing on live concert stages. But Wednesday night, bands from across the region are taking to the stage for his recovery after he had an arm and hand amputated.

Music means almost everything to Jeff Saenz, a Dallas guitarist and producer who runs his own studio. Music opened doors he never thought he’d walk through.

"You could trace it all the way back to me meeting Monica," he said.

It led Saenz to his fiancé, Monica Cooper, who he met at a concert four years ago. And it was back in June that she saved his life.

"And we just saw this huge orange flash, this glow," Cooper recalled.

Saenz says the weather was calm on June 1, but their entire neighborhood off Lakeland Drive lost power.

"Just out of that, kind of, natural instinct. Man of the house kind of thing. Decided to investigate just to make sure that nothing was really terribly wrong," Saenz said.

But something outside was wrong.

"When he didn’t respond, I ran out the front door and that’s where I found him," Cooper said. "He was laying on the ground on fire under a power line."

"Power lines had fallen in our own yard. I have no idea how I came into contact with them," Saenz said. "I have no idea how long I was out there before Monica found me and ultimately saved me."

Saenz only remembers waking up in a hospital 11 days later after being intubated. His left hand was amputated because of burns from the electrical shock. The father of two would later lose his right arm.

It was a devastating scenario for a musician who uses his hands to make a living.

"It was just obvious to me that no one would judge me if I were angry and no one would judge me if I were depressed," he said.

Nevertheless, Saenz is moving forward. He was released on Aug. 7. He’s working to get prosthetics. And while he won’t be able to play guitar again, he’ll find a way to produce.

"I’m just happy to be here," he said.

Now, a group of bands are performing a festival at the Granada Theater on Wednesday.  All proceeds go to Saenz’ recovery efforts.

"I don’t know if they realize what it’s meant to us, but it’s gigantic," he said.

Saenz says music is a part of healing and has been a catalyst to just about everything in his life.

"I would never have been able to have without the guitar and music," he said.

And it’s a way of highlighting what’s most important. Because even though Saenz loves music, that’s not what he first thought of when he woke in the hospital.

"Instantly remember Monica being right by my side," he said.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Wednesday.