DANVILLE, Va. – We sat down with Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler following a July attack that left much of his body severely burned. We showed you part one of that conversation on Thursday, but there was more to be said.
He tells 10 News now about his miraculous journey to recovery.
“I was essentially asleep for like a month, so I was in this dream state more or less.”
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler
After Vogler woke up a month following the attack, he knew his life was forever changed.
“You are fully dependent on other people for everything at first, especially like you know, your food, your cleaning yourself, like everything.”
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler
Vogler said his recovery was about taking one day at a time and enjoying the small victories - from taking his first steps, to returning to city council.
“You couldn’t have kept me from getting in those council chambers, you know. Prior to me getting hurt, I never missed a meeting for thirteen years. So it would have felt strange to me to come home and watch that meeting on TV or something. ”
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler
He now tells us that he plans to run for another term as a city council member.
“You know, last year I got the most votes in the history of Danville and so I gotta break my own record. Like, you know, like I’m a competitive person”
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler
Vogler thanked the community and his family for the support, saying they made his recovery that much easier.
“Everywhere I go, if I’m out and there’s people there, at least one person’s gonna come up to me and hug me and just tell me, you know, how much they’ve been praying for me and thinking about me, and just so happy.”
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler