A taxi driver has lost a quarter of his skull after being nearly beaten to death in a brutally violent attack which his wife fears was racially motivated.
Faisal Raja, 37, was given just a one in ten chance of surviving the catastrophic brain injuries he suffered in the attack by thugs late last year. He has now regained motor function but his wife says his personality has 'definitely changed' as a result of the damage to his brain.
The cabbie, from Derby, suffered two severe skull fractures, severe swelling and bleeding on the brain and had to have a quarter of his skull removed in four operations after being set upon by a gang of men when he stepped out of his car for a bite to eat.
His heavily-pregnant wife, Rozi, 31, whom he had called just moments before the attack, feared he would die over Christmas as she sat by her husband's hospital bed.
Faisal Raja, 37, with his wife Rozi, 31, and newborn baby daughter Aliza. He has to wear a helmet to cover a portion of his brain over which his skull was removed
Now back at home with three-week-old daughter Aliza, Mr Raja will have to spend the next six months wearing a protective helmet as his brain is covered only by a thin layer of skin. He is unable to drive or leave the house unassisted.
Mother-of-one Mrs Raja said: 'They're animals, they left him to die.
'I thought he wouldn't make it, I thought I was going to be a single parent.
'It was terrible, I can't even find the words to describe how bad his injuries were - it was just horrific.
'It was a miracle that he survived. He was given just a 10 per cent chance of making it.
'When we went in to see him, he was covered in wires and you could see how much his head had swollen. He was given a 10 per cent of surviving and was put on a life support machine.
The vicious attack by a gang of armed thugs left Mr Raja on life support with only a 10 per cent chance of survival
'All the hospital staff were shocked that he survived, they say how pleased they are he's still here.'
She added: 'He could have been targeted because of his race.'
Mr Raja had finished a night shift driving his taxi in the Morledge area of Derby on November 25 and was due to return home to his heavily-pregnant wife.
But the expectant father decided to work a few more night-time hours to earn a little extra money for his family. He pulled up by a kebab shop in Morledge, called his wife to check she was okay, then went to get a snack.
As he returned to the car, a group of men viciously attacked him from behind crushing his skull with their knuckle-duster-wrapped fists and attacking him with a knife.
They left him for dead.
