Bob Plumb, an 89-year-old Times Colonist carrier who was attacked with a machete in late July, is having some struggles as he recovers at home.
The attack happened about 4:15 a.m. July 31 in Courtenay as Plumb was delivering the newspaper. He was sitting in his vehicle when a man approached and asked for a cigarette, then attacked when Plumb said he didn’t have any.
Plumb was slashed several times and stopped the assault by grabbing the blade. Despite his injuries, he managed to drive himself to the RCMP detachment.
Step-daughter Dianne Ball said Plumb is in rough shape.
“Whether he’ll be able to drive again or have his independence is debatable,” she said. “So it’s really affected his whole life.”
Ball said Plumb still can’t see out of his damaged left eye.
The support shown by the public has been heartening, she said.
Step-granddaughter Janelle Karatsikis, who has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Plumb, issued a thank you for all the donations that have been received.
“We (family) will be assisting Grandpa Bob to use this money for things like private home care, furniture, safety equipment, cable, art supplies (something he loves to do),” she says in a post on the page. “Anything he needs to make his recovery easier.”
Karatsikis said Plumb “remains in good spirits and surrounded by loved ones.”
About $31,000 has been raised, far exceeding the original goal of $10,000.
Comox RCMP Insp. Mike Kurvers said about 200 businesses have come forward with surveillance video from the morning Plumb was injured.
He said it is a long process, with hundreds of hours of footage to go through. “We have to work through that and narrow down the parameters to try to identify someone.”
The nature of the crime made people to want to help however they could, Kurvers said.
“It resonated in the community. They were very upset with what took place.”
