Many people we treat were young and active before their accident, so it’s hard for them to adjust to life-changing injuries.
A motorcyclist who is undergoing rehabilitation at Epworth Hawthorn after a serious collision, is urging everyone on the roads to take care.
In October, 54 year-old Andrew Eklin left his Somervile home to ride to Eden in New South Wales, to meet up with two friends from Sydney.
All three planned to ride their motorbikes back to Phillip Island the next day, to attend the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Mr Elkin didn’t make it. An hour after leaving home, he was seriously injured on the South Gippsland Highway near Tooradin, when a truck pulled out from a side street.
Mr Elkin hit the side of the truck at high speed, causing serious injuries to his right leg and arm.
“I saw the truck pull out and started processing my options, but before I had a chance to react, I hit the truck,” Mr Elkin said.
“I rolled a few times and lost consciousness and woke to see five or six people standing over me.”
One of the people who stopped to help put a torniquet on Mr Elkin’s severely injured and bleeding leg, which may have saved his life.
