Matty's recovery fund after being hit by 87 year old driver

On the morning of April 10th we finally had a nice sunny day after a miserable week of rain.

A close friend of mine Mathew Graham decided to make the most of it, going out for an early morning ride on his pride and joy Harley Davidson Sportster. Around 10am, literally one turn from returning home, he was involved in a horrific accident when an 87 year old motorist in a crossover SUV failed to yield at a give way sign.

Matty was impacted by the front of her vehicle and launched off the bike, sent tumbling through the air before landing and sliding along the road until he slammed into a parked car. The road he was on is usually very busy so he is extremely lucky there wasn't traffic coming the other direction, that unfortunately is about all the luck Matty could be said to have had that day.

His hip was fractured, his brain was bleeding, his leg was crumbled back underneath himself. Broken in 3 places and essentially severed from his body. In shock Matty maintained consciousness through all this, in the company of a compassionate member of the public who witness the incident he watched as the police applied an emergency tourniquet to staunch the blood loss possibly saving him from passing away on the side of the road before ambulance crews arrived.

Thanks to the quick work of emergency services once on scene, then the tireless efforts by surgeons and supporting staff at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Matty has had his leg reattached. While nothing is certain, after a further 14 odd hours of surgery including multiple skin grafts it seems hopeful he will retain the limb. Then with 9 months of recovery, rehabilitation and some luck he will be able to walk again.

The damage was extremely extensive, one surgeon commenting it was possibly the most complex reattachment he was aware of performed at Sunshine Coast University Hospital to date. Again we thank them all for their work, it is truly amazing what they can do.

Even so, Matty will never be quite the same person as he was that morning he left home to enjoy the sunshine. But somehow through everything even laid up painfully in his hospital bed he is still the same likeable bloke quick with a smile people know him for, softly cracking jokes with nurses and surgeons.

Matty is a boiler maker by trade and worked most of his life with a Mig welder in hand, but recently had taken some time off. With savings low he had just begun looking for work again before the accident and even had a job offer, so this really couldn't have come at a worse time financially. Considering the time frame it's going to take for his recovery before he could possibly consider rejoining the workforce, I am reaching out to the community for support.

I’ve known Matty for many years and he's always been someone that would show up and lend a hand if he thought you needed it. He is a good bloke that has been a victim of a horrific incident and any support you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for reading.