A battle with scars: Ronald Kisner’s long road back

At the beginning of 2026, Ronald Kisner was looking forward to celebrating a milestone 10 years in the making – the anniversary of his receiving a kidney transplant.

He thought about how to mark the occasion in a way that would bring together the people who had supported him along the way — family, friends and members of his church.

He settled on a cruise aboard the Lady Caroline on Lake Erie, scheduling the celebration for early August.

On Sunday, March 22, Kisner, 77, sat in the first seat on the front pew at the Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church (GABC) in Cleveland, where he has served as deacon for 40 years. As chairman of the deacon ministry, that seat carries a deep significance, it is where his father sat prior to his passing.

After the service, some of the church’s leadership often retreat to the dining room for dinner with Rev. E. Theophilus Caviness, the church’s senior pastor.  

Before dinner, Kisner left the room to pick up a package at one of the church’s entrances. Upon arriving, he noticed, looking through the glass doors, a scuffle outside. He said a man appeared to be choking someone. He also saw the delivery person pulling up with the package. He waved for her to keep moving, called 911 and walked to the side door of the church.

“So, now I see the car again with the package pulling up on this side, along with the suspect I saw beating a guy lurking nearby,” he said. “I still wanted them to keep going. I stuck my head out the door to suggest that. By now the guy saw me and started to approach. I wasn’t afraid. I thought he was just a neighborhood guy having a really bad day.”

“A really bad day”

After seeing anger in the suspect’s eyes, Kisner said, and trying to deescalate the situation, Kisner politely asked that the man calm down. After mocking that suggestion, Kisner said, the man grabbed him by the throat and hurled him down a set of concrete steps located at the side entrance of the church.                  

Rev. Theophilus J. Caviness, assistant pastor at the GABC, found Kisner at the bottom of the steps. Caviness later told him that after seeing the extent of Kisner’s injuries, he thought the 77-year-old was dead. 

“I was horrified by the devastation I witnessed that afternoon,” Caviness said. “It was shocking. It was tough for me to see him lying in blood. I thought we had lost him. You’ve never met anyone more personable and gregarious than Ron. Always assisting others in improving their lives for the better.”

Kisner was rushed to University Hospitals with injuries to his face, including a broken nose. His right eye was so badly injured that doctors had to make an incision to release blood that was pooled behind it. He was told if that operation wasn’t done, he might have gone blind in that eye.

“Once I gained consciousness, I was in a state of disbelief,” Kisner said. “My first thought was my life was ending, and my family was at home planning my homegoing service.”

The accused assailant, Anthony Mango, was taken into custody by police. He faces six charges connected to that day, including attempted murder. A pre-trial hearing was held on Sept. 30. According to the prosecutor’s office, a trial is scheduled for December. Multiple attempts to contact Mango’s attorneys were unsuccessful.

Moving forward

The four months since the attack haven’t been easy for Kisner. He had to use a chalkboard to communicate and couldn’t walk across a room without feeling breathless, he recalled. He is now driving and taking walks around his neighborhood. 

“The left side of my mouth feels like it’s covered by a mask. The facial doctor said it could take a year for the nerves to completely heal — but I’ve been cautioned that it’s possible some of the feeling may never return. I’ve accepted that prospect,” Kisner told The Land.

Kimberly Kisner, Ronald’s niece, started a GoFundMe page to help offset some of her uncle’s medical expenses. To date, the fund has raised over $32,000, according to the site.

“Typically, we’re a very private family when it comes to situations like this,” she said. “The only reason I suggested doing a GoFundMe was that we knew he was going to have a long journey ahead, with numerous medical expenses. Those who felt so inclined to give, or who prayed for him and the family, made us very grateful. It also brought awareness to the situation.”

Emotional scars often plague victims who experience vicious attacks. In Kisner’s case, it took him until he arrived at the rehabilitation facility to look at himself in the mirror. Even now, he has no desire to see the photograph of himself that was published in a local newspaper showing his condition shortly after he was admitted to the hospital.

Anyone who has been around Kisner knows of his faith. But many wonder: after such an unprovoked assault, has his faith wavered?

“That’s a good question,” he said. “I think, to be honest, yeah, there was a time when I guess, [I was] going through an existential crisis, that I was like, ‘God, you let this happen?’ But I said I had to back off and just say things happen. This guy had free will. He made an awful, terrible choice. Obviously, he was full of evil, demonic spirit, and I happen to be the one who was in his path.”

On Aug. 4, Kisner, along with his many family and friends, boarded the Lady Caroline in Downtown Cleveland for a two-hour excursion on Lake Erie.

After grabbing the microphone and choking up a bit, he spoke about his ordeal in March and thanked everyone for their prayers. Afterward, he honored Dr. Charles Modlin, kidney transplant surgeon and urologist at MetroHealth Hospital who performed his transplant 10 years ago.

Kisner returned for the first time to church over a month ago with a bit of trepidation, but he felt it was time to come back. 

“I returned to the church, where I chair the Deacon Ministry, on my birthday, Aug. 30,” he said. “The reception was warm, overwhelming. I had mixed emotions. Yes, I was glad to be back, on the other hand it meant I had to revisit the crime scene.”