Man’s recovery nothing short of a miracle
Published: February 14, 2007
Robert Long posed for pictures, flexed his muscles and made jokes to the Bradner Village Health Care staff as he showed off his abilities on a stationary bike that he used in therapy.
This is the way his family remembers him: in good spirits, showing his great sense of humor and even enjoying oranges, one of his favorite fruits.
The scene at his farewell party was a far cry from Long’s state when he first arrived at Bradner Village Health Care Center in November. Then - soon after an October beating and robbery - he had a feeding tube in his stomach, was recovering from multiple skull fractures, could not stand or walk and had to wear a diaper, said Linda Jones, an occupational therapist at Bradner.
He was in such a state that Jones and other staff members did not believe he would ever leave the facility. Friday afternoon, though, he proved them wrong and went home.
“We never thought he would reach this point of recovery,” Jones said. “His recovery is nothing short of a miracle.”
Long, 56, came to the facility after he was released from Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, after being beaten Oct. 26 and robbed of his bicycle on 28th Street between Boots and Gallatin streets. Two Marion teenagers were arrested in connection with the incident.
When he arrived, Jones said, Long had to be under constant supervision, could not eat on his own and had to relearn how even the most basic skills.
“He was almost killed,” Jones said. “He had to be taught to walk again.”
“He’s come a long way,” said Stephanie Stace, a certified nursing assistant at Bradner who helped care for Long. “When he first got here, he could barely stand and he was very agitated and nervous. To walk a straight line, it couldn’t be done.”
While Long’s initial prognosis was not good, he slowly began to recover. Last week, it was decided that he was capable of leaving Bradner to move in with his sister Carol Sheveily, a fact that made him very happy Friday afternoon.
“I’m glad to be getting out of here. I feel pretty good,” Long said with a smile. “I can’t remember being in Fort Wayne at all,” he said of his stay in the hospital there. “I don’t remember it at all.”
During the party, Long shook hands with well-wishers and had fun as he ate cake, drank root beer and enjoyed several going away presents, including a plastic bag full of oranges.
“He loves oranges,” his wife, Roxanne Long, said.
The party also allowed his family and friends to see glimpses of the man they knew before the incident that put him in Bradner Village.
“The way he acts now is the way he acted before the accident,” Roxanne Long said. “I didn’t think he’d get out of here. … I want to get him out of here. … He about broke my heart one day, crying (and) saying, ‘I want to go home.’”
The Longs’ two children, Elizabeth, 12, and Matthew, 11, also attended the party. Roxanne Long said she’d always believed her husband would leave Bradner Village.
“He made it. He’s alive,” Roxanne Long said. “Sooner or later, I knew he would (come home).”
Even though Long is excited to be leaving Bradner Village and the facility’s staff is happy he has recovered, many of the members expressed sadness that they won’t be seeing him on a daily basis.
“He’s going to be missed,” Stace said. “We all got to know him real well.”
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