>>Associated Press
CAPITOLA, Calif. — The San Francisco Giants fan who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being beaten by two Dodger fans three years ago outside Dodger Stadium put up his hands and fingers, fist-bumped his mom and talked about his goals in a display of his progress during a new interview aired Wednesday morning.
Bryan Stow, wearing a Giants tank top, spoke to ESPN from his parents’ home in the Northern California city of Capitola, where he watched Game 1 of the World Series between the Giants and Kansas City Royals.
In an interview about nine months after the attack, Stow had trouble holding a simple conversation and appeared to struggle to raise his arms and hands or even smile.
But in the new interview, he made faces for the camera, joked about the Giants margin of victory, gave a thumbs-up sign and showed the reporter a ball signed by Giants legend Will Clark. He used a walker, but moved without assistance.
“I want to run. I want to walk, like a normal person,” he told ESPN.
Stow, 45, said he is happy to be alive.
“Waking up every morning knowing I’m here. This place makes me feel good,” he said.
Stow was attacked in a parking lot of Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2011. He won a $14 million lawsuit against the Dodgers in July, but his attorney sued the team again last month, claiming it is trying to recoup $3.4 million in insurance payments from Stow for his medical care.
Joe Jareck, a Dodgers spokesman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
Stow was in the courtroom for part of the trial, his wheelchair positioned front and center so jurors could see the scars on his head where his skull was temporarily removed during efforts to save his life.
Experts testified that the former paramedic will never work again and has suffered repeated strokes and seizures. They said he will require around-the-clock care.
Stow’s dad, Dave Stow, told ESPN that his son has come very far.
“We didn’t think he would be this mobile or vocal. He can sit and have dinners with us. He’s very funny,” Dave Stow said.
Bryan Stow said he remembers going to watch the Giants play, but he doesn’t remember the attack. His parents say they have re-created a memory of it at his request.
“Well had I known, I would have turned to see the guy running at me and ready to clock my block, you know,” Bryan Stow said.
Dodgers fans Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood pleaded guilty to the attack. Sanchez was sentenced to eight years in prison, while Norwood received a four-year sentence.
-Published by Andrew Thompson
