When he opens his eyes each morning, Patrick O'Shaughnessy hopes, ever so briefly, that everything has been a nightmare.
That the brutal attack that turned his life upside down was a bad dream he's finally waking up from. Then he lifts his head from his pillow, starts to get dizzy, and knows the nightmare is not over.It's been two months since he was severely beaten early one morning on his way to work at a local radio station. Repeated kicks and punches caused bleeding to his brain, a broken eye socket and other injuries.O'Shaughnessy is better known as Spotman, an evening on-air personality for The Fox (KJFX, FM 95.7). He is also the board operator for KJFX and sister station KFRR (FM, 104.1) during their morning shows -- Bob & Tom and Kevin & Bean, respectively.He's been working for the radio stations for 10 years. Radio years are kind of like dog years, so he's quite a veteran.In addition, Spotman moonlights at local rock club Lucky 13, manning the soundboard during concerts.On Saturday, both Spotman's radio co-workers and his friends in the local music scene are coming together for Spot Fest, an afternoon of music at Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis that will raise money to help with his medical bills. It starts at noon and runs until 7 p.m., with nine rock bands scheduled to play.The day everything changed for him was Aug. 12. He was arriving for work at 4:20 a.m., as he did every morning, when he crossed paths with three young men who had been been unleashing violent, early morning attacks around town for a few weeks.Even today, Spotman, 56, doesn't remember what happened to him. He remembers arriving to work, then waking up in a hospital.The radio station knew something was up when he wasn't on the air at 5:30, like he was supposed to be.He was found near the station's door by Carter, the program director and an on-air personality at KJFX (who only goes by one name)."They trashed every part of me to such an extent where my own PD (program director) didn't recognize me," Spotman says.Luckily, his chest area was OK. Five weeks before the attack he had a quadruple bypass, and returned to work earlier than expected.These days, Spotman says, he finds himself trying to start over again. He's trying to regain use of the right side of his body. He's learning to talk again, to walk again.While in the hospital, Spotman got a visit from Junus Perry, the police officer who was beaten with a baseball bat by a Roosevelt High School student. Their injuries were similar, and Perry told Spotman to expect a year's worth of rehabilitation."I want to get better faster," Spotman says. "I want to have this done in four or five months max if I can. I am getting better every day."So far, he's moved from a wheelchair to a walker. He hopes to soon be walking on his own.This week, he was looking forward to going to the radio station with his speech therapist to work on speaking like he was on the radio again.Meanwhile, Spotman's radio friends and local music friends haven't forgotten about him.While organizing Spot Fest, Carter says about 25 local bands volunteered their time. And radio station listeners were sending so many well-wishes that the station set up a dedicated e-mail address for them (getwellspotman@ wilksfresno.com). "The response has been amazing," Carter says. "We're getting e-mails and phone calls, even if the station is out on the streets, people are asking us how he's doing. It's been really heartwarming."The station hasn't filled his evening time slot. And that's what gets Spotman most excited, getting back behind that microphone."The station has not replaced me," he says. "They are holding all those positions open for me, which is very rare in radio at all."One day soon he hopes that he'll open his eyes, lift his head from his pillow, then go about his days of radio and rock music -- the way things used to be.