Irish woman attacked in Yonkers recovering mentally and physically after violent assault

After months of surgery Alisha Jordan from County Meath now has ten metal plates in her head

Six months ago 21-year-old Co. Meath native Alisha Jordan was brutally attacked on Katonah avenue in the Bronx while walking home after a night out in the popular Irish neighborhood.

Alisha was left with horrific injuries and memories from the incident on July 14 2012.

Fast forward almost half a year later and the young footballer has made a whirlwind recovery and maintains a positive attitude about her ordeal and what her future holds.

With one more surgery left to undergo, Jordan talks about how the past few months have been and how she has realized how precious life is.

The brave 21-year-old underwent one surgery in 2012 in the weeks following her attack. Ten metal plates were inserted into her forehead to repair her fractured skull. In recent months, she has experienced headaches and migraines which sometimes force her to stop what she's doing. She has also had difficulties breathing through her nose.

An upcoming surgery on February 15 is so long after the attack as the swelling from her first surgery has only just gone down enough to open up Alisha's scar on her face and reset the bones in her nose to help her with her breathing and to put an end to the migraines. The recovery should only take a month or two before she will be back to her good self again.

The fresh faced youngster only sports one tiny visible scar on her forehead from the many injuries she endured, but she says her appearance has definitely taken a lot of getting used to. "It's been a long process and I have been unhappy with the way I look for so long that I am excited for my next surgery to make everything look a little better for myself. I think looking in the mirror everyday and seeing something different than what I'm used to has been a big struggle for me for so long, that hopefully after the surgery I can finally say, "you know, this is the way I'm going to look from now on so I just have to deal with it."”

Alisha has overcame so many hurdles with the help of family, friends, and the support from both people in New York and Ireland whom she can't thank enough for their generosity. But she has to admit, it hasn't been an easy road.
"Putting everything behind me I think for me has been one of the hardest things to do. It’s a very personal thing. I know I try very hard to forget about it but it will always be with me. I do try and deal with it as best I can everyday though. I think it’s normal to have good days and bad days and that is kind of where I am right now."

Regardless of everything that has been going on in Alisha's life, she was determined to get back to her job in White Plains. She returned to work last September where she says the support from her boss Bobby O'Connor and all the staff has been amazing. She couldn't be happier at work.

Alisha will be even happier when she gets to return to the football field in the coming months.
"One of the first questions I asked my surgeon was 'when can I go back playing football?' and thankfully he said once I use the face-mask I should be back playing in May. He could not understand why I would want to go back playing so soon but playing in Gaelic park with Rosie O Reilly shouting at me to track my player back is when I will truly feel like I have left this all behind me and things have got back to normal."

​
Nster.com