Matthew Leone shouldn't be walking. Or talking. Or possibly even alive.
The bassist for popular Chicago band Madina Lake was savagely beaten in June after he tried to intervene in an altercation between a man and his wife.
The man attacked Leone from behind, injuring him so severely that doctors removed one-third of his skull to make room as his swollen brain returned to size.
Now Leone says his recovery is a profundity he can't even begin to understand.
"They say I'm borderline defying science," Leone said, "because of the way I'm able to walk and talk."
Leone also suffered a broken jaw, a broken nose and a fractured skull. Leone went through two surgeries to re-attach parts of his skull. The support he received has been amazing, he says.
"People have absolutely blown my mind with their good vibrations, it's just floored me."
Charges against Leone's attacker were filed in July. Asked whether he bore any ill will to his attacker, Leone said he couldn't let that occupy his thoughts.
"If I let that dominate my thoughts or my life, it's just going to negatively affect me."
