October 01, 2004
Update on Barry
Well, unless something changed, Barry should be out of the hospital. However, he won't be going home for a bit. He's got some rehabilitation to do.
I stopped up to see him on Wednesday, and he seems to be doing ok. When I got the directions to his room (they had moved him... good sign), I thought that it was at the far end of the hall, so I didn't even try to read room numbers. As I walked past the first room, I heard someone say, "There's Joe!" I turned around, and saw that I had walked past his room. I'm thinking that one of his visitors saw me. No, it was Barry. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, talking to his dad. He got a bit of a smile on his face when I walked in, which disappeared almost immediately as his therapist walked in right behind me.
While she started working with him, I visited with his dad. He told me about Barry getting out, but not being able to go home. Too many things that need work. The brain damage he's suffered will be something that won't be permanent. He does well remembering people and their names, but at times, he gets very confused. He won't know where he is, why he's there ... things like that. While he remembers names of people, he confuses personal details. I don't know how long this rehab is going to take, but I hope it's not too long. He just wants to get home.
While I'm watching the therapist work with him, I begin to get pissed. He's going to be alright, yeah. But he can't hardly close his fists without being in agony. He was supposed to try closing his hands 20 times. By 15, he was taking breaks. Then he had to lift his arms, one at a time. Of course, that couldn't be done without help. I'm watching his face contort in pain, and thinking that I would love to be able to inflict that suffering and so much more on the little jackass who did this to him. I know of a large group of people that think the same way, two being my brothers. Barry is one of my youngest brother's closest friends.
Speaking of the little punk; from what I understand, and we all know how secondhand info can be, the cops know who he is. They just haven't caught him. His mother got thrown into jail for obstruction. She may still be there, though I doubt it.
I know it's a motherly instinct to protect your hatchling, but when something like this happens? How can you protect someone who almost kills a person?! I think that gene pool needs to be drained.
