Now he’s appealing for help in finding his attacker, who is still on the run weeks after the incident on Queen Street.
McKenzie’s recollection of the frightening assault is patchy.
He knows he was on his way home and believes it was around 5.30pm.
“On Friday the 10th, if, if that’s the day, it was a normal work day in the city,” he told 9News.
“I’ve got recollections of either waiting in a cab line, waiting in a bus line.”
He was one of thousands of city workers spilling onto CBD streets but without rhyme or reason he was the one two young thugs decided to target.
“You know, I’m a 52-year-old guy in a business shirt and suit pants … with a computer rucksak over my shoulder, walking down the street,” he said.
His partner Sarah Robins was terrified after her phone rang.
“He called me, facetimed me, and said he’d been attacked and then his phone cut out,” she recalled.
“People die from a single punch.”
McKenzie was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital before being discharged early the next morning.
In the days after, things went from bad to worse – he was dizzy and in pain.
And a week on from the hit, suffered a fall at home.
“That was the scariest medical episode and day of my life,” he said.
McKenzie’s now recovering from his physical injuries but there’s also emotional impact of what happened that night.
He doesn’t know if he’ll feel safe walking the city streets again.
“All the ladies who have to work in the city and I now understand how they might feel scared walking down certain streets and at certain times.”
Making him feel more unsafe is the fact that his attackers are still out there.
Police are investigating. They hope security vision from nearby businesses will help piece together the gaps in McKenzie’s memory.
