Hell: Jodie Campbell with her partner Michael Green. Picture: Adam Trafford
THE family and friends of Michael Green say they’ve been to hell and back after he was almost killed in a vicious assault in 2008.
Mr Green’s partner Jodie Campbell yesterday told The Courier that the first 12 months after the attack were a blur, and that she couldn’t imagine life without ‘Mick’.
“They told me to turn the life support off when we walked into the hospital and I said no, because if anyone was going to beat it, it was Mick,” she said, wiping away tears.
“He’s my world, nothing or no one comes before Mick.”
Ms Campbell said her partner would never be the same again and still had trouble speaking.
“He can say some words, but a lot of them are swear words. We can coax him to say words and he can repeat it after us but then he forgets,” she said.
“To me he’s the same person on the inside, it’s just mentally and physically he’s changed. But I can still have a laugh with him.”
She said Mr Green had effectively been given “a life sentence”.
“This is the worst assault in the history of Ballarat and it’s taken three years, seven months, three weeks and one day (for the attackers’ pleas to be heard),” she said.
“Even after it’s all done, Mick’s not going to get better. But my thing is Mick’s got the justice that Mick deserves, and we can all move on and help him get better.”
Case worker Lany Johnson has become close to the couple over the years, and was also in court offering her support yesterday.
“Mick knows what’s going on and he’s quite excited and full of tears,” she said. “He just wants some closure, and wants closure for Jodie. She’s done an amazing job, she’s been through three-and-a-half years of hell.”