I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility Trisha Meili, Simon and Schuster Page 4 of 4

New York City itself goes into mourning. The rape of a slim, seemingly frail, innocent woman—she weighs less than one hundred pounds—seems a rape of the city itself, and her fate becomes the major topic of discussion in every borough, every community. Some call her foolish for venturing into the park at night, but New York Times columnist Tom Wicker affirms in her “the primacy of freedom over fear—all honor to her for that.” Mayor Ed Koch, who has offered Trisha’s parents lodging at Gracie Mansion (they refuse), calls for a day of prayer, and churches, synagogues, and mosques hold special services. Many in the black community are defensive, warning that those in custody might be unjustly accused. Others are sympathetic. Neighbors of the suspects hold a prayer vigil outside the hospital. Members of four of the suspects’ families send flowers and express their grief.

Metropolitan Hospital is besieged by strangers wishing to help in any way they can, and a separate location is set up where blood can be donated to replenish that given to the Jogger. Salomon sets up a blood-donation center for its employees as well. The hospital switchboard is overwhelmed by calls asking for information about the Jogger’s condition or simply conveying good wishes and prayers for her recovery. Flowers pour in from all over the country, including eighteen roses from Frank Sinatra. None beyond the immediate family know that a doctor, though not Dr. Kurtz, has told them in a moment of particular brutality that “it might be better for all if Trisha died.”

The attack hits the people at Salomon Brothers particularly hard. John H. Gutfreund, chairman and chief executive officer, and Tom Strauss, president, were told immediately of the tragedy, and an attempt was made to keep the news from the employees until there could be more definitive word on the Jogger’s fate. This was futile, and on the first day the company is in shock. Gutfreund and Strauss go to the hospital, and soon many other Salomon employees are traveling to Metropolitan to pay their respects. Trisha has made a special effort to be friendly with her coworkers—reserve has long been a character trait and she has battled against it—and has succeeded. She is in fact loved, which adds heightened emotion to the suspense. Will she survive? her colleagues wonder. Will she ever wake from her coma?

On the twenty-first, a notice from Gutfreund goes to all employees:

There will be a service of prayer for the recovery of Trisha Ellen Meili at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Fifth Avenue and 90th Street, tomorrow, Saturday, April 22, at 6:00 p.m. Please bring a candle.

Lisa Borowitz from the Corporate Communications Department is assigned to handle all calls coming into the firm regarding Trisha—for a while there are some two hundred a day. She will remain in that job for many months. And the company does much more. The Meili family has a comfortable income, but the medical bills, beyond Trisha’s insurance coverage, will be staggering. For starters, in addition to the cost of the private nurses, Salomon will also pay her hospital costs.

At first, the Jogger’s survival is the key issue. There is a terrible moment on April 27 when the breathing tube is removed and it is found the Jogger can’t breathe on her own—it’s the only time, Dr. Kurtz testifies at the trials of the defendants, that he felt like crying.

A second extubation is done on May 2; the crisis is resolved.

Still, questions about her eventual recovery haunt everyone. It is soon probable that the patient will survive, but in what condition? The worry revolves around the long-term damage to the brain. Will she be able to walk—let alone run—again? Once the eye is repaired and the socket rebuilt, how will her vision be affected? What about her fine-motor skills? Will she be able to fend for herself without assistance? Will she ever be able to live alone? What about her capacity for speech, for memory, for reasoning? No one knows or dares predict the outcome. 

From I Am the Central Park Jogger by Trisha Meili. Copyright @2003 by Trisha E. Meili. Reprinted with permission of Scribner, an Imprint of Simon &Schuster, Inc. wwwsimonsays.com. For more information on Trisha Meili, go to www.centralparkjogger.com.

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