On Christmas Eve 2021, our dear friend Lucas got into a severe cycling accident. This resulted in major facial injuries and, upon impact he fractured his spine and damaged his spinal cord, rendering him an incomplete quadriplegic.

This happened around the corner from Lucas’s home and thankfully his very kind neighbour heard his calls for help and stayed with him after calling an ambulance. He was taken to emergency at the Royal Melbourne where he had his initial tests and treatment before being transferred to the ICU at the Austin Hospital, where he was in the hands of some of the best spinal experts in the country.

He is now at a rehab centre where he is regaining mobility and strength in his upper body, particularly his hands, and learning the essential skills of a wheelchair user. This is a life-changing event and, for his life to be as independent, comfortable and accessible as possible moving forward, he will require lots of specific equipment, rehab and support.

Before this accident, Lucas was an extremely active person and passionate about his sports. He was always cycling, running, finding new trails for big walks and was very recently training for the Melbourne Half-Marathon. We know this love for activity will continue into his new life and he is already very excited to test his skill at wheelchair tennis. We have been so proud of (but totally unsurprised by) the positivity and optimism Lucas has shown since the day of his accident and from the very beginning we knew that he was the kind of person who will make the absolute most of these new circumstances.

As his closest friends, we’ve all been looking for a way to support Lucas and his family so that their focus can be on his rehabilitation rather than extreme circumstances posed by an accident of this magnitude. Thankfully he is being treated in the public system, meaning his medical costs are currently covered, so our hope for this fund is that it will give him access to things he may need beyond the most basic of requirements.

Our aim is that any donations will allow Lucas to purchase things like a suitable and comfortable tall-man wheelchair, potentially an additional wheelchair designed specifically for sport, a new accessible vehicle and anything that he finds later on might assist his quality of life. For all we care, he could use the money raised for a holiday down the line. We want the utilisation of funds to be left entirely to Lucas and his family to spend however they feel most suitable.

Lucas is incredibly humbled by all the thoughtful messages he has received since the accident. If you have been looking for an avenue to further support him, as we know we have been, any and all donations would be an extraordinary kindness to him during this difficult time.