MAHONING COUNTY Shooting's impact told

The Howland man fights sleep, fearing he won't wake up.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Lucille Greenwood couldn't stand the thought of her quadriplegic grandson being sent to a nursing home, so she took on the daunting task of caring for him.
"It's an endless job taking care of him," Mrs. Greenwood, of Howland, said Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Her grandson, Terry Greenwood of Howland, was 21 when he was shot outside a Pennsylvania Avenue house in 1995. He suffered a spinal cord injury that left him in a wheelchair, unable to even sip a cup of water without help.
Guilty plea
The man accused of firing the shot, Marcus Smith, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and improperly discharging a firearm at habitation. He was sentenced to four to 10 years in prison.
Smith, 27, was given credit for more than eight years he has served while the case was pending. The remaining time will be concurrent with a 10-to-25-year sentence Smith is serving for unrelated charges in Pennsylvania.
During her victim-impact statement before sentencing, Mrs. Greenwood said Terry's injury affected their entire family. She has become his primary caregiver and nurse.
"I couldn't send a 21-year-old to a nursing home to just sit in a corner," she said, noting that her grandson has no control over any of his bodily functions.
Terry's father, also named Terry Greenwood, said his son is afraid to sleep at night for fear he won't wake up. Any obstruction in his air passage could cause him to choke and possibly die, he said.
Greenwood said that fear causes his son to stay awake at night as long as possible.
"When you get in bed at night, you can move around all you want until you get comfortable," Greenwood Sr. said. "When he goes to bed, he looks at the same spot on the ceiling all night long. He can't move."
bjackson@vindy.com