HEBRON, Ky. (AP) - John Eubank, 47, spends most of his time sitting alone in his mother’s family room.
A brutal attack last winter left John, a “passionate” former teacher, paralyzed on the right side. He is barely able to form a single word.
“But he is able to ask, ’Where are they?’” his mother, Judith Eubank, 70, said.
He’s speaking of his many, many friends, according to Judith.
“He really needs companionship,” Judith said. “I wish more of his friends would visit and visit often. So many make promises but don’t follow through and that’s hard. He needs to see them. It keeps him going.”
Judith said her son made friends with ease and was able to keep the relationships going for many years.
“He was just that way,” she said.
John also dedicated most of his life to educating others.
“He was a great teacher and loved by his students,” Judith said.
Judith was always proud of John and his dedication to educating others. He graduated from Dixie Heights High School in 1988 and attended Northern Kentucky University, earning degrees in communications and English.
He served as a substitute teacher at Kenton County Schools until about two and a half years ago when he decided to go to Ponce, Puerto Rico, to teach English to 12th-grade students.
“He was so excited,” Judith recalls, as John left for Puerto Rico around fall 2014.
He had his own apartment and was making friends. Best of all, according to Judith, he was helping others.
All that came to an end last winter when John was attacked in his apartment. He was robbed, severely beaten with a baseball bat, stabbed multiple times and left to die.
No one knew until two days later when John didn’t show up to teach. The principal at his school knew immediately that something was wrong. It wasn’t like John to miss a day of work. The principal called John’s mom, who lives in the U.S. in unincorporated Kenton County.
“I told him to go to his apartment,” Judith said. “It’s a mother thing I guess, but I knew something was wrong.”
The principal had to get a court order to get into the apartment. When he did, he found John in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
“He had a half-an-inch crater in his skull,” Judith said. “There was a lot of pressure on his brain. They didn’t think he’d make it.”
Judith made plans to fly to Puerto Rico accompanied by her eldest son, Robert.
“It was hard seeing John that first time,” she said. “It was shocking. His eyes were black. He looked like death warmed over.”
The love and support of those in Puerto Rico who knew John helped Judith and the family through the early stages of this tragedy.
“The Puerto Rican people were so very nice and loving,” she said. “The men who did this to John are not like the typical Puerto Rican people.”
Judith said the police worked diligently on John’s case, but his attackers have yet to be found.
Eventually, John was released from the hospital and with the help of American Airlines, was able to come back home to the U.S. Since then, he’s spent time at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care - UC Health where he continues physical therapy.
John uses a wheelchair and has suffered many other mental and physical impairments. Doctors won’t know the full extent of his injuries until a full year has passed.
“He’s lost everything,” Judith said. “He’s lost his ability to teach, his independence. Everything, but his family.”
Without work, John has no benefits other than Medicaid. Judith is doing the best she can for her son, but it’s difficult because her home isn’t handicap accessible.
Others, however, are stepping up to the plate to change that. One of his friends started a GoFundMe account, Help John at https://bit.ly/JohnEubank. The goal is to raise $6,000 to install a handicap accessible shower on the first floor of Judith’s home.
Currently, John has been taking sponge baths in the driveway. Winter is quickly approaching, however, and Judith said they are still waiting for John’s disability to be approved.
In just a month, 96 contributors to the GoFundMe account have raised $5,030. Encouraged by the response, Judith said she hopes others will help John, who “dedicated his life to helping so many children in Kentucky and Puerto Rico.”
Besides the GoFundMe effort, another friend of John’s, Shawn Carter, organized a fundraising event. Jammin for John - An Open Mic Benefit for John Eubank last Friday at Hebron Lutheran Church.
Although Carter lives in North Carolina, he and John have remained friends.
“I’ve known John since middle school,” the Villa Hills native said. “We really became friends our freshman year at Dixie Heights High School where we both were in the band. He played the clarinet, I played drums.”
Carter said John is “a very strong and independent person.”
“John always marched to the beat of his own drum,” he said. “He has a very generous heart too. Hearing about this has been heartbreaking.”
Carter planned to travel to Northern Kentucky for the event and to visit with John.
According to Judith, that’s just what John really needs, visits. “We welcome everyone,” she said.
The support of friends and prayer pushes both John and Judith forward.
“I’m convinced that’s what works,” she said. “We believe in a higher power - God. John would have died that night if it wasn’t for God. And He’s got him here for a reason.”
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Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, https://www.nky.com
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