For Robert “Bob” Lehan, 67, coming back to Bridle Trails Red Apple Market in Kirkland is a homecoming.

The Kirkland resident of 66 years, who worked as a courtesy clerk, came back to the store for the first time to say hello to customers and colleagues after an accident at home left him quadriplegic. Coming back is a new term for Bob, who has not missed a day of work in nine-and-a-half years.

On Saturday (dubbed “Bob Day”), his fellow co-workers threw a barbecue on the storefront and presented him with a cake. They joked that he was late. Bob received guests amid hugs and kisses and camera flickers.

“He was the store grandpa,” said Lori Crowshaw, owner of the Bridle Trails store. “We miss him, everybody (does).”

The accident happened on Oct. 16, 2009. Bob was walking up his front steps carrying things for his friend Mark when he slipped and fell backwards, hitting his head and bruising his spinal cord. His wife, Fredda, who did not see the fall, rushed over and saw what the matter was and called for help.

“Bob just fell and I immediately knew by the way he was lying that something was wrong,” Fredda said. “Thank goodness I was home and Mark was there … it would have been the end.”

After Mark preformed CPR trying to resuscitate him, he was transported to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.

The extent of Bob’s injuries were so severe, he was given the choice of whether or not to live. With his granddaughter on the way, he chose the latter. After months of physical therapy at Harborview Medical Center and then University of Washington in Seattle, he chose to go home instead of turning in to a retirement community.

Bob uses a wheelchair, which he controls with his mouth. He also has a respirator. He has a strict routine for each day with nursing care and the help of his daughter Melissa Moody and other family members. His care is round-the-clock.

“It’s been such a hard thing because he’s such an active guy,” Moody said.

His friends at Red Apple have been by his side all along. They raised approximately $20,000 for home improvements, including a ramp and hard wood flooring to make Bob’s home more wheelchair accessible – not to mention the flood of cards and gifts that have come the family’s way.

“One girl wrote in a card, ‘I’m not sure how you fell but I’m sure glad to hear you got up,’” his wife said.

Apple Market Manager Duane Pearson remembers hiring him nearly 10 years ago, after Bob had retired from the Seattle Door Company.

“We used to just shoot the breeze, I knew he’d be great with customers,” Pearson said. “If someone was into NASCAR, he liked NASCAR … he’d talk to anyone about anything.”

Though Bob no longer works at Red Apple, there are reminders of him. Bob was known to give out recipe tips to customers and always had a secret stash of plastic bags on hand.

On one occasion, after his accident, Melissa was checking out her groceries when they ran out of plastic bags and one employee remembered Bob’s back-up plan. Sure enough, there they were – three large boxes of plastic bags hanging out in the back by the produce section.

For now, Bob and Fredda and the family have tried to return to normal, but it is the new normal.

“Bob and I are both fighters,” Fredda said. “We have each other. He has … his personality. We still watch TV and our grandchildren. They’ve (the family) been troopers. Day-by-day is all I can pray for.”