Good news everyone: Arthur Chi'en, who was severely injured by some idiot in a clown costume last November, is about to go back on the air. Chi'en told The Daily News that he felt almost 100 percent, a tremendous statement considering what he had been through.
Chi'en was covering the West Village Halloween parade last year when a man dressed as a clown yanked him off a float. Chi'en fell face first, resulting in the entire left side of his face being caved in, along with extensive damage to nerve endings (he needed seven metal plates for reconstruction). According to Chi'en, the hardest part of recovering was when his mother and sister saw his face for the first time.
"They both started crying," said Chi'en. "To see your loved ones so worried about you to the point they're crying and there's nothing you can do is a really difficult experience. You want to fix it, and there was nothing I could do."
Remarkably, Chi'en said that he doesn't hold a grudge against the guy who altered his life, saying, "He was drunk, and probably made a really bad decision." Probably? More like definitely.
Chi'en will be appearing on WPIX later this week. Ever the optimist, Chi'en said the time away from the cameras allowed him to see how much New Yorkers care about local news. He said that a woman recently came up to him in a restaurant and congratulated him on his recovery.
"I just felt like New Yorkers care about New Yorkers," said Chi'en of the woman. "There was nothing in it for her. Those are the viewers I like to think about when we're out there telling our stories."
It's good to have you back Chi'en.
