By David Eck
Enquirer contributor

P.J. Reinert and his wife, Deana, at Drake Center recently. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

P.J. Reinert is home for Christmas.

A week ago, in a brightly decorated conference room at Drake Center in Hartwell, Deana Reinert could only hope that her husband could be with her and their three young children in their Harrison Township home.

Christmas is a favorite time for the Reinerts. But this year, neighbors Paul and Michelle Quinlan helped put up the Reinerts' Christmas tree. Mrs. Reinert did little Christmas shopping because she and her husband of nine years always enjoyed doing it together.

On Tuesday, the 29-year-old Hamilton County sheriff's deputy came home.

"I got my only wish," Mrs. Reinert said. "There really must be a Santa Claus. I look back on the way he was when he first arrived (at Drake Center) and I didn't know what the future was going to hold. It's a miracle that he's survived. Period."

The deputy had been at the Drake rehabilitation center for nearly three months, recovering from a brain injury suffered when his police cruiser crashed on Interstate 275 while he was chasing a speeder Sept. 3. Drake had been his home after spending about three weeks at University Hospital.

"P.J. has continued to make very good progress in the short time that he's been here,"' says Dr. Benjamin Nguyen, attending physician at Drake Center. "He's very young. He doesn't have a lot of other illnesses. The prognosis for P.J. is very favorable."

Mrs. Reinert's brother, Ronnie Krass, knows how far his brother-in-law has come. He drove past the accident and saw the mangled cruiser.

"He's making tremendous progress,"' says Mr. Krass. "That's going to be the highlight of Christmas this year."

P.J. Reinert's 8-year-old son, Adam, says he can't wait to play with dad today.

"I just feel very blessed as a whole, just knowing that he's still with us," says Amy Krass, Mrs. Reinert's sister. "What I saw in the emergency room and what I see now is complete ends of the spectrum. When I first saw him in the emergency room, I didn't know if he was still with us or not."

Since being at Drake, Deputy Reinert's responsiveness has increased; he is able to do some walking, and his memory and cognitive skills are improving.

When he was airlifted to University Hospital from the accident scene, he was unresponsive with severe, permanent brain damage, similar to that of a "shaken baby." His right foot, right ankle, a vertebrae leading to the pelvic bone and the pelvic bone itself were broken. His liver was injured.

Physical therapy helps him walk and move about. Behavioral therapy helps deal with moods.

Though he speaks in a clear, strong voice, his thoughts are often confused. The deputy's wife helps guide his conversation.

"As long as I have him, I have something to work with," says Mrs. Reinert.

For nearly four months, Mrs. Reinert has spent her days at the her husband's side. She holds his hand, helps with therapy and talks with him.

"I leave here to go home to take care of the kids," she said the other day at Drake Center. "My mom and dad are very, very good. They help out a lot. My family's very supportive."

Besides Adam, P.J. and Deana have 6-year-old twins, Austin and Alexandra.

Deana's mother, Joy Krass, of White Oak, watched the kids while Mrs. Reinert was at the hospital. Her parents spent most evenings with the deputy.

The family's support is a vital component in the deputy's recovery, Dr. Nguyen says.

"The most important prognosis for functional recovery ... is the amount of family and social support (a) patient has,"' he says. "He has all of the proper support for someone with a brain injury to make a good recovery."

Police officers and others have held fund-raising benefits. Friends have brought food. Strangers send money and offer a constant stream of prayers.

"We're just awestruck," says Ron Krass, Mrs. Reinert's father. "Before the accident, I would have never thought people actually react in this manner."

"Ninety percent of the money that we have gotten is from people that we don't even know - and that's amazing to me," Mrs. Reinert says.

And the support is deeply appreciated. Though the deputy is still receiving his regular salary, Mrs. Reinert had to quit her job as an operations manager at a full-service brokerage and investment firm.

The most frustrating part for deputies is that the speeder P.J. Reinert was chasing on that sunny Tuesday afternoon, in a red Firebird traveling more than 90 mph on I-275, remains at large. The driver did not stop when the deputy crashed about two minutes into a chase.

"At the time when it occurred, I was mad because I thought, `You did this to me and now you're getting away,'" Deputy Reinert says. "You're always still angry. Always, because a little bit sticks with you."

Steve Sabers, a longtime friend of the Reinerts and a fellow Hamilton County sheriff's deputy, is thrilled that his friend is home for Christmas.

"Everybody's so looking forward to it," Deputy Sabers says. "From the time I met him in high school, anything he wanted he always went and got. I think he's fought and come a long way. It doesn't surprise me he's made a recovery this quickly."

The Reinerts want as normal a Christmas as possible.

"We're going to go do exactly what we did on Christmas Day any other year," Mrs. Reinert says. "I just want the kids to have some normalcy in their lives. So much has already been taken away from (them). I just want us to be able to be together."

Deputy Reinert will continue to receive the same type of therapy, perhaps as often as three times a week, as an outpatient for possibly two years.

"He'll never be the same again," Mrs. Reinert said. "I just want him to be able to communicate and understand ... just be able to be a husband and a father again.

"It doesn't matter to me if he changes, because life changes. These are the cards we were dealt and we're dealing with them, and we'll do the best we can do."

Donations for the Reinerts can be sent to Cincinnati Police Federal Credit Union; 959 W. Eighth St.; Cincinnati, OH 45203.

E-mail daveck@fuse.net