“I love you.”

The words are barely audible, and they’re followed by sobs, but they mean the world to Harvey Marshall. It means his wife of 48 years, Thomasine Marshall, is still with him.

The 66-year-old grandmother was savagely attacked on February 8th, and has been in an OHSU hospital bed ever since.

Background: Tualatin man arrested after standoff

Police say a longtime family friend who lived in a camper on their property, 55-year-old Edward Bragdon, stabbed Marshall repeatedly with a screwdriver. Marshall suffered a broken vertebrae, a punctured lung, and her subsequent tracheotomy makes speaking nearly impossible.

Her husband says he’s grateful for how much his wife has progressed. “We’re real luck to have her with us,” said Harvey Marshall. “We’re just taking what we have one day at a time.”

Marshall knows his wife is in for a long recovery, and that she’ll have to learn how to walk and talk all over again. But the family is still optimistic. “Our hopes are real high,” said Harvey Marshall.

On February 8th, Thomasine Marshall did what she did every day: she brought a hot lunch to Bragdon. The Marshalls say Bragdon is mentally ill, and for some reason he flew into a rage that day.

Witnesses called 9-1-1, and a SWAT team soon surrounded the Tualatin home. Bragdon is now facing a charge of attempted murder.

In spite of it all, the Marshalls have no regrets about reaching out to the man who had once been their daughter’s boyfriend.

“That’s kind of our nature, and it’s especially her nature,” said Harvey Marshall. “She helps everybody, she’s a loving, caring person.”

The Marshalls are grateful for all the support they’ve received since the attack. Donations are being accepted in the name of Thomasine Marshall at any U.S. Bank.