Elderly Veteran Makes Remarkable Recovery Following Bronx Stabbing
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An 88-year-old Army veteran from the Bronx is making a remarkable recovery after he was stabbed last year.
"All I can say is god bless the veterans and god bless the United States of America," James Hexner told CBS2's Cindy Hsu.
The 88-year-old has survived a lot. He served int he Army in the 1950s, and is now recovering after being outside his home in the Bronx a year ago.
"He pulled a knife out of the bag which I wasn't even seeing and he thrust it into my stomach," Hexner said.
He was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in critical condition.
"His intestines were coming out of his wound," Dr. Srinivas Reddy said, "The knife had traversed a good part of his abdomen causing a lot of internal injuries which we needed to fix."
Hexner know how lucky he is to make it.
"Very few at my age, very few would have survived," he said.
He was moved to Carter Hospital in April, still in bad shape.
"I was able to talk, that's about it, but physically not a lot, and now he does a lot more," Ria Ganness said.
In seven months he's now able to exercise and even walk with some help and wants to get back to working with the American Legion which he's been involved with for more than 20 years.
The team around him is well aware of how he served the country.
"We salute him for his dedication to the world," Raj Rani said.
"We're glad to know him. He gives us a lot of stories," Ria added.
"When I get out of here I'm going to take her out to dinner," Hexner said
His sense of humor is obviously right on track, and doctors say he will likely head home to his family in the New Year.