Politics & Government

Morris Plains Councilman on the Mend After Hip-Shattering Fall

Zabihach took a fall on Jan. 30.

Morris Plains councilman Roman "Ray" Zabihach is on the mend after suffering a hip-shattering fall on Sunday, Jan. 30.

On that day, Zabihach said, he was expecting visitors from out of town and had become concerned about the slippery walking conditions around his home. Dripping water from the ice-and snow-covered roof, he said, had caused the problem.

"I was cleaning my roof of ice and snow. The gutters were frozen over," he said. "I was at the very corner of my deck and I placed the ladder too close to the edge of the deck and it just slipped over. I fell on my side and shattered my hip."

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Unfortunately no one else was home at the time. "It took me half an hour to crawl inside–that door knob was really high. My wife came home, found me on the floor and called 911. On Monday, I was operated on. I had a total hip replacement."

Zabihach said he was eager to say thank-you to all those who helped. "I was really impressed. The Morris Plains police and the Morris Minutemen were fabulous. I was in excruciating pain and I was thinking  'How are they going to carry me?' but they did it with such care."  

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"I was really touched by the way the council members and the mayor and other officials were calling, asking if we needed anything. They reached out to my wife while I was in the hospital. It just shows what a great community this is."

Zabihach still has a lot of healing to do. "I'm learning how to walk again, getting the muscles to do what they need to do. I'll need 6 to 8 weeks of therapy. I'm doing everything the doctors tell me to do."

Meanwhile, he misses his role in borough government. "I've missed a number of meetings. I wish I could've been there but I'm still not ready. I've been updated on what's going on so I feel like I'm a part of it. It helps me getting better."

Zabihach explained that he cannot vote on any issues currently before the council, no matter how well-versed he is on the topic. "Even if it there is an issue that I'm in favor of, there might be things that are brought to light at the meeting. Things can change from what I may have read or heard about before the meeting."

As for anyone else thinking about climbing up to clean off the roof, Zabihach said, "The advice I would give is don't get distracted. I was thinking about my trip to pick someone up at the airport and I wasn't concentrating. I've been on ladders all my life and this is the first time I fell, but it was a big fall. Obviously I'm going to stay off them now."


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