He still watches over his shoulder
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By Bill Wundram | Sunday, April 06, 2008 |
MORE than a year after he was beaten to within an inch of his life — for no apparent reason — Randy Campbell still wonders why.
“I never thought I was going to survive,” the former newspaper delivery man says.
“I can’t recall anyone who survived such an assault,” Dr. James “Jamie” Paul, a physician and doctor of dental surgery, once said. He pulled Randy back to life, along with the help of lots of hospital TLC (tender, loving care).
Randy is happy and thankful to be back at work at his old job at Burger King across from NorthPark Mall in Davenport.
He wishes for justice to the two strangers who followed him across Davenport, from the west side to east, after his last delivery at 5:45 a.m. in the autumn of 2006. Outside his home, in a nice neighborhood a few blocks from Duck Creek Park, he was attacked.
The savage beating and kicking left him in a coma and with a pulp of a face. There was a brain contusion, multiple facial fractures, broken jaws, broken hips, a skull fracture, an eye out of its socket, ruined teeth and a pelvic fracture caused when he was repeatedly kicked in the groin.
Randy and the police don’t know why he was attacked. Twelve pages of police reports show hard-core investigating into the case. Cops have not given up on finding the attackers, but the final page signs off: “This case is closed pending further information.”
Apparently, Randy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He believes he was mistaken for someone who drove a white pickup truck. That was the color of the truck he drove in his part-time job as contract carrier for the Quad-City Times, delivering 120 daily newspapers.
“Needless to say,” he says with a wry smile, “I am not delivering newspapers anymore.
“I have my good days and my bad days,” he says. “There is pain in my left leg. At times, my jaws ache, and I’ve lost lots of the vision in my left eye. But I’m better than expected.
“I still have dreams about being attacked. I don’t really remember all that happened; I’m glad I don’t remember. I still watch over my shoulder to see if anyone is behind me, but I could never identify my attackers. I really didn’t see them.”
Randy had major medical expenses. The bill at Genesis Medical Center-West Central Park, where he was in a coma for four days, was $89,000. But Randy qualified for aid called Charity Care. Last year, Genesis paid out $17 million through the fund for those unable to pay.
When Dr. Jamie’s name is mentioned, Randy throws back his head in hero praise. “He put me back together, a wonderful, kind man. Once, I was in surgery with him for 6½ hours. He took care of things, financially.”
Randy likes to talk about all the people who have been kind to him. He is thankful for those who contributed $10,000 for the unpaid medical expenses, like special eye glasses and other needs and care. In the beating, he lost all his upper teeth, so he needed dentures.
If he says it once, he repeats it a half-dozen times. “There are lots of good people out there. Please thank them for me. I’m still getting cards.”
Randy’s picture appeared once in this newspaper.
“It’s funny, but I’m recognized. After all this time, people will see me in the supermarket and say, “You’re him.”
They’re happily surprised that he’s out and about and working full-time again.
Randy says it in a few words: “I’m lucky and glad to be alive.”
Bill Wundram can be contacted at (563) 383-2249 or bwundram@qctimes.com.
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