It’s been a long and painful seven months for 16-year-old Marcus Bailey after his life was drastically changed late last year.
Marcus was walking along Main Street in Toledo on a December evening when a group of men got out of a vehicle and beat him with a baseball bat he was carrying. Investigators said it was a random attack.
Marcus suffered damage to 80% of his brain as part of a traumatic brain injury.
After months of rehab, he can now walk with assistance from his mom and he's showing other positive signs of recovery.
“Not only is he saying words, he’s saying sentences. He’s singing words to songs. He will sing a whole song.”
It's a recovery no one expected.
“The prognosis was as poor as you could possibly get and that he’d most likely be vent-dependent for the rest of his life,” Bailey said.
Marcus is now back at home which is newly handicap accessible thanks to a donated ramp.
“It gives him so much more freedom and independence to be able to just come and go as he pleases,” his mom said.
There’s a long road ahead for Marcus while his brain continues to change and rewire.
Terry Pearson, 18, was arrested for the assault on Marcus and pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Ohio teen makes miraculous recovery 7 months after brutal baseball bat beating
Marcus Bailey is proof that miracles happen every day.
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The family still needs some help for other improvements that will help Marcus continue in his recovery. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the costs.
Piece of Shit Pearson appeared emotionless and told the judge he had been under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack. Before sentencing Pearson apologized to the victim's mother.
"I'm sorry to the mom and what she's going through. It was just a lot going on that day," said Pearson.
Just before sentencing Pearson to eight years in prison, the judge called the incident a senseless tragedy.
"I'm going to sentence you to eight years in prison because of the pain and damage you have done to the community," stated Judge McNamara.
After entering an Alford plea on May 3, Pearson was immediately found guilty of the assault.
Terry Pearson gets 8 years for beating 16-year-old with baseball bat
The 18-year-old found guilty of beating Marcus Bailey nearly to death learned his sentence on Thursday afternoon.
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