BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Western New Yorker was mugged in Dublin, Ireland has arrived back in the states after his near-death experience.
7 News' Eileen Buckley introduced you to Stephen Termini in July, after his sons stated he had been assaulted by teenagers, to the point where he was in a coma.
A GoFundMe had been created in his name to help with recovery efforts.
Tuesday evening, Termini spoke with Pheben Kassahun one-on-one at Allentown Music, in Buffalo, where he shared that he is lucky to be alive.
The bass player said he was two months into his visit to Ireland.
"Everybody in the hospital thought I was going to be dead," Stephen Termini said.
He said he was in the hospital for 2 to 3 weeks, before being moved to a different facility for monitoring where he stayed for about a month.
He said Irish officials covered his medical bills.
The Daily Mail UK acquired surveillance video from when Termini was assaulted.
"I was in a coma. I had a hematoma in my brain, a bad chest infection from some sort but I came out of it. I had them all fooled and I survived it," Termini explained.
The Buffalonian came back to the states on Sunday ending his ultimate goal to spend the rest of his days in Ireland, for now at least.
He thanks the abundance of support he has received from all over the world.
"The fame that happened to me over there is a little bit overwhelming because everywhere I go, everybody sees and knows who I am. Not that that's a bad thing. They all want to say they're sorry for what happened to me, how you're feeling and we're praying for you," Termini said.
The 57-year-old said he is ready to move forward.
"I'm back here in Buffalo, gaining my strength back and hopefully, I can go back to work next week. I'm really looking forward to it," Termini said. "I forgive those kids for what they did. I don't know why they did it. It's not something that I dwell on. I have no ill intentions for it."
