Mayor home after second hospital stay

Grbelja ‘doing well’ after horse-riding accident

By: Purvi Desai
   MILLSTONE — Mayor Nancy Grbelja is out of the hospital. Again.
   Mayor Grbelja, who was briefly hospitalized after a May 6 horse-riding accident, returned to the hospital May 16 due to complications involving blood clots. On Tuesday, after a week’s stay at CentraState Hospital in Freehold, Mayor Grbelja was again released and is, according to Township Committeeman Elias Abilheira, doing well.
   "She’s on her way home, and she’s going to be home," he said on Tuesday. "She still has to take it easy."
   Mayor Grbelja fell off her horse while steering it near a trail at her home on Stillhouse Road, and suffered a broken arm, three fractured ribs and a punctured lung. She had surgery on her arm at that time, which was broken between the shoulder and elbow.
   Mr. Abilheira said Mayor Grbelja would be on her computer all day Tuesday, catching up on her e-mails.
   "She’s doing much better, she still needs therapy and treatment for her arm," she said, adding that the clots that caused her to go back to the hospital had cleared up. She can walk; she’s limited with her use of her arm. Most people couldn’t handle it the way she can."
   Currently, under the Millstone Township’s ordinance, the deputy mayor (in this case, Bob Kinsey) acts as mayor when the mayor cannot perform their duties, said Mr. Abilheira. He added that Mr. Kinsey has consulted with the mayor in her absence.
   "The mayor’s position is an administrative position," he said. "When she’s in the hospital or if she’s unavailable, the deputy mayor can (act) in her place."
   Mr. Abilheira said the Township Committee does not take any formal action and the mayor is consulted and kept abreast of everything that’s going on.
   "We seek her advice," he said. "She is a crucial part of our team."
   Mr. Abilheira said Mayor Grbelja is an active person who does not like being indoors much.
   "Nancy is not a person who likes being cooped up," he said. "She likes to meet with people and address people face to face. She’s not happy in the hospital."
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Mayor Grbelja did not return calls for comment.