A Gaslamp Quarter restaurant will anchor a fundraising event in public recognition of the nightmare that visited an Australian tourist on a trip around the world.
A dinner will he held on Sunday, April 13, at Bondi restaurant, 333 Fifth Ave., on behalf of Robert Schneider, who was savagely beaten the morning of Feb. 27 by two men and thrown into a fire ring in Ocean Beach. The incident has left Schneider’s family struggling to cope with his unimaginably painful recovery and has left local residents stunned and outraged by the brutality of the attack in their own community.
Yet the healing process has begun ” on many different levels.
The 26-year-old Schneider, an Adelaide native, remains hospitalized but is gradually improving and was recently awakened from a medically induced coma. For parents Judy and Peter Schneider, that progress is no small feat considering the scope of their son’s second- and third-degree burns and other injuries.
“It’s been a long haul and still a way to go, but he’s certainly doing better each day,” said Peter Schneider.
The doctors kept Schneider heavily sedated so he would not move or disturb the skin grafts on his back and stomach, according to Kim Edwards, spokesperson for UC, San Diego Medical Center, formerly UCSD Medical Center-Hillcrest.
The procedure is standard in burn cases and allows the body to heal and the brain to relax, Edwards said.
“For about a week, he will kind of be in this no-man’s land where sometimes he’ll know where he is and be able to speak,” Edwards said. “He recognized his mom a couple of days ago, but then the next day he was totally out of it and didn’t know where he was. It just kind of goes like that for a while until they fully wake up.”
Schneider has had multiple surgeries to repair a severe skull fracture, deep facial lacerations, a broken right hand and burns.
“They think there is no brain damage, but when you have a concussion like that, they don’t know the full extent of things for about six months,” Edwards said. “(As) with any burn situation, he’s going to have a long recovery. But he’s very strong.”
The Schneiders are optimistic about their son’s future and, in time, that he will make a complete recovery.
“His hand-mouth coordination is great,” Peter Schneider said. “We’re only talking two or three days, and yesterday he was able to take a drink container in his hand with a straw and then put it in his mouth by himself.”
As Schneider continues to recover, the two transients accused of beating him have been arrested in Idaho and Oregon.
Damian Maples, 21, was captured by U.S. marshals on Monday, March 31, as he hid under a bed at a trailer in Coolin, Idaho. Hours later, Frank Montoya, 46, was taken into custody in Eugene, Ore.
“We have enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these crimes were committed and that these were the defendants that were responsible for them,” said Paul Levikow, a spokesman for the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.
The Schneiders don’t echo the perpetrators’ penchant for harm, however.
“That’s up to the legal system,” Peter Schneider said. “Our position is that these people need to stand accountable for what they have done.”
When Carl Gregory of San Carlos and Roseann Iovine of Point Loma heard what happened to Schneider, it touched a chord. Gregory and Iovine, who had never met, stepped in and wanted to do more.
They established the Friends of Robert Schneider Fund at Wells Fargo Bank (account No. 7707402199). Gifts to the fund can be made through checks payable to: Friends of Robert Schneider, Outdoor Travel Adventures, c/o Robert Schneider Campaign, P.O. Box 60084, San Diego, CA 92166.
Gregory noted the community’s broad support in the wake of the incident.
“I’ve had everything from money being offered to gift cards to [offers of] ‘Where can I volunteer,'” Gregory said. “I’ve been contacted by retired attorneys, retired health-care workers. It’s just a whole plethora of people.”
Gregory and Iovine also organized the April 13 dinner at Bondi, to be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Admission is $8 and includes an Australian barbecue, a live band and raffle prizes. Gregory can be contacted at (619) 454-0294 or by e-mail at [email protected].
“Our objective is to raise money to get him back on his feet,” Iovine said.
“They (Schneider’s parents) really want to see the funds go to Rob’s flight back to Australia when he’s healthy enough,” Gregory said. “They don’t have tickets for him. His international medical insurance covers most of it, but it doesn’t cover any rehab or transportation costs.”
With a thirst for travel, Robert Schneider worked in Australia’s mining industry for more than a year to save money for his trip and had been on the road since May of 2007. He spent the last five months in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama.
Peter Schneider said his son is an outdoors person who loves surfing and was getting his dive master’s certificate in Costa Rica to operate dive cruises.
Robert made his way to San Diego to buy a surfboard and connect with friends on a surfing expedition down the Mexican coast, according to his parents.
“He’s familiar with San Diego,” said Peter Schneider. “He came through here June-July last year. We were actually quite relieved when he got to San Diego that he was again in a safe area on that leg of his journey.”
They have mixed feelings when it comes to their son traveling again, although they said he is a smart traveler and has trekked far from Australia on his own since childhood.
“Part of us says, ‘You stay at home’; the other half says, ‘When you fall off a horse, you got to get back on,'” Peter Schneider said. “He’s an adult, and he’s got to make his own decisions.”
From the outpouring of medical staff to police detectives to strangers, Schneider’s parents said they are profoundly grateful for the vast expressions of compassion and kindness they have received.
That includes the homeless man who Peter Schneider said pulled his son from the fire that fateful morning and went to get help.
“In principle, ˆPeter Schneider said, “that homeless guy saved his life. We would love to be able to find that guy and give him a hug and buy him a meal or whatever,” Peter Schneider continued.
Against the odds “” and with Gregory’s help “” Peter got his chance. The emotional union took place just days ago at the Ocean Beach Soup Kitchen. For a father who has endured such emotional pain over his son’s injuries and for Dashawn “Dee,” the 20-something man who helped rescue Robert Schneider, it was a poignant moment Gregory.
“There was probably about 40 to 50 homeless people just kind of milling around the outskirts [of the soup kitchen], and [Peter] and Dee were kind of just off to one side,” Gregory said. “They stood about 20 minutes, and then Peter kind of waved me over.”
Peter wanted pictures taken with the man whom he considers a hero. Then Dashawn got his food but didn’t stay long.
“To me, it solidified and made it much more sincere that he [Dashawn] wasn’t out for anything,” Gregory said, “and he just kind of walked down the alley and disappeared.”
“Peter came over to me when all was said and done. Big tears welled up in his eyes, and he’s like, ‘That’s the man that saved my son’s life,'” Gregory said.