1010 WINS Anchor Brian Carey Back On Air 5 Months After Brutal Attack

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- 1010 WINS news anchor Brian Carey has returned to work five months after suffering a brutal beating in his Manhattan apartment.

Elton Anthony, a man Carey identified as his house cleaner and personal assistant, was arrested three days after the attack and charged in the assault.

"The attack itself I don't remember at all," Carey, 52, said of the Sept 9, 2013 beating. Carey told 1010 WINS reporter Mona Rivera that he was lucky to be alive. "I was told that I almost died, and they didn't know the first night whether or not I was going to make it."

Listen to Brian Carey: I Realize I Almost Died

Jim Carey, who rushed to his brother's side after the attack, said his brother's injuries were shocking. "I asked the doctor if he was going to live or die and he couldn't give me that answer."

Dr. David Otterburn, one of a team of surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center involved in treating the news anchor, said Carey suffered bleeding on the brain, a broken jaw, and a shattered eye socket.

While Carey was in bad shape when he was brought in, "He's healed up well and we're glad to hear him on the air again," Otterburn said.

Listen to Brian Carey: It's Been Tough

Carey said he knew that his accused attacker had a criminal record, but said Anthony, 48, never displayed violent tendencies.

However, on the night of the assault, "He was acting really like he had lost it, like completely out of it," Carey said.

The last thing Carey remembers is an agitated Anthony entering the apartment with pizza and iced tea. "There was no argument, nothing," Carey said.

After the beating, his neighbor found Carey in a pool of blood and called an ambulance. "She said my face was so swollen that she barely recognized me."

Carey told Rivera that when he saw his injuries and then returned to his East Side apartment, the viciousness of the crime hit home. "There was blood congealed on the floor, blood stains everywhere. It was a hard thing to see."

Anthony pleaded not guilty to felony assault. His next scheduled court date is March 17, 2014.

Carey said he hopes Anthony receives treatment for "mental issues."

The popular news anchor says his focus now is on his job and his loved ones.

He also said the support of family and friends was crucial to his recovery, and that 1010 WINS listeners were a key source of comfort. "Cards, letters, Facebook posts, that has helped me more than anything."