The victim of a road rage attack in Hove has had an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
Now Tony Magdi, 52, of Portland Road, Hove, looks likely to lose his business.
Mr Magdi was attacked by a cyclist across the road from his greengrocer’s shop just under a fortnight ago (Sunday 7 November).
While he lies in intensive care in a coma and on a life support machine, his popular greengrocer’s shop is about to close.
Three staff will lose their jobs when the shop, also in Portland Road, Hove, shuts tomorrow (Friday 19 November).
Solicitors are in the process of making an application to the Court of Protection, which makes decisions about the property and affairs of adults who lack capacity.
His best friend George Jeha has been taking care of the shop since the attack.
The pair had been due to go away on holiday together.
Mr Jeha had flown in from Canada on the morning of the attack and said that Mr Magdi had picked him up from Heathrow airport.
Mr Jeha said: “He dropped me off and was just parking the car when it happened.
“He never even made it back to his home.”
Overwhelmed
Mr Jeha is due return to Canada on Saturday but may come back to try to help while his friend lies incapacitated in Hurstwood Park Neurosciences Centre in Haywards Heath.
Mr Jeha, a businessman, grew up in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo in Egypt, with Mr Magdi and has family in the Brighton and Hove area.
He said that he had been overwhelmed by the number of wellwishers and the shop window is festooned with cards.
But the shop is also filled with cut-price signs as the staff try to shift the last of the stock.
Mr Jeha has set up a blog to keep Mr Magdi’s friends, customers and supporters up to date with his progress.
It includes details of a blood transfusion on Tuesday and the news that Mr Magdi is still heavily sedated.
You can find the blog here.
Paul Lambeth, 35, of Stafford Road, Brighton, has been charged with attacking Mr Magdi, causing him grievous bodily harm.
He is free on bail but has been ordered to wear an electronic tag by Brighton magistrates until his next appearance in court on Thursday 23 December.
