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Watch VideoRai Henniger talks about accident one year later
Story By: David Tauchen
Source: KOAA
It may sound strange to most, but Rai Henniger sees all of it as blessing. The reconstructive surgeries. The brain injury. The pain. He wouldn't trade it for anything, he says.
Last year the unimaginable happened to Rai. He was setting up a fireworks show for a Sky Sox game when one of the mortars exploded in his face. The impact shattered his forehead, nearly killed him. Why it went off remains a mystery today.
The Henniger family stood by as their father, their husband slipped into a medically induced coma for three weeks. He lost an eye and his nose, which doctors later rebuilt using one of his ribs. Keeping positive and humorous, Henniger named his nose "Eve". He says humor is helping the healing process a lot.
“I was looking really, really bad compared to now. I looked like a deformed Lon Cheney in the Phantom of the Opera,” said Henniger.
Henniger refuses to think of himself as a victim. In fact, he won’t even use that word. He says his family suffered more than he did.
“What happened was kind of like D-Day in a way,” Henniger says. “I am hearing about D-Day, but my wife and kids went through it. They were on the beach in Normandy.”
Now one year after the accident, the ‘get well’ cards are still flooding his mailbox. He plans to respond to each one of them personally, but it will take time. He has a whole drawer full of them at home.
Speaking to News First, he took the opportunity to thank all of those who wished him well. “This is an opportunity to say thanks to everybody and let them know that I love them and you got me through this.”
