SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - On Tuesday, Giants fan Bryan Stow returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to his family and friends. Central Coast News was there when he got off the plane from Los Angeles. San Francisco is the closest he can get to his hometown.
"It's big, it's one more step in his journey," says Bryan's roommate Danny Simon. "It's a big step closer to home, back in Santa Cruz, back to his normal life. It's a big step. It's a long time coming."
"There's something said to have the comforts of home around you," says Bryan's cousin Johnny.
Johnny was there with Bryan's roommate and Bryan's ex-wife to greet him. Johnny even brought a home video camera to capture Bryan's return. He knows the 400-mile journey wasn't easy. Bryan spent the past month and a half at a Los Angeles hospital.
Two Dodger fans brutally attacked him outside Dodgers Stadium. Even though he's still in critical condition, last week doctors said he's stable enough to be moved to San Francisco General Hospital.
"The immediate dangers to Bryan have passed I think now the true
recovery is up to Bryan at this point," says Johnny Stow.
The family said being closer to other family and friends will help in that recovery. More than a dozen paramedics and EMTs off duty, who don't even know Stow, showed up to support him and escort him to the hospital."
"Because he's me," says Justin Schorr from the San Francisco Fire Department. "He's a father. He's a husband, paramedic and this could have happened to me. I would want my family and my community to help me. That's why the San Francisco Fire Department allowed eight
of us to come off duty to pay our respects and help Bryan come home."
It's support such as this that Bryan's family says they need and are thankful for now that he's closer to home.
"It's nice to know that Bryan is just literally an hour drive away now," says Johnny Stow.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
