It was a crime that shook up a neighborhood.
"To say I was freaking out I would say is an understatement," said roommate Dan McLaughlin, who found his long-time friend Austin Stuck bloody and wounded after an attack at their townhome.
Police said an intruder stabbed 24-year-old Stuck five times.
"He had a stroke from all the blood loss and it was on the right side of his brain so he has left side weakness," his mom Bonnie said via a Facetime call with NewsChannel 5 Wednesday. "He has to re-learn how to walk and use his arm and hand."
The entire family has been at a rehabilitation center in Atlanta, where Austin was moved three days earlier.
"I think he's so happy and relieved to be up and be moving," she said.
Austin has been slowly starting the long and difficult process of learning to walk on his own again.
But things have been looking up with a recent break in the case. Police said someone used Austin's credit card and surveillance led them to 41-year-old Ralph Martin.
Detectives said Martin eventually confessed to stabbing Austin, taking his credit card and using it at a local convenience store.
"I mean you just never know because it was random, and you never know if he could strike again," Bonnie said, "I was just really glad [to hear] he was in custody."
This weekend, friends and family have all been in Atlanta for a Thanksgiving that may be a little different than they're used to.
"We have reserved the conference room here at the rehabilitation center, and we are cooking the full Thanksgiving meal and bringing it to Austin," Bonnie said.
But their Thanksgiving will be one with perhaps some of the most thankful people around.
