A South Coast retiree still recovering in Canberra Hospital almost a month after he was a victim of a motorcycle hit-and-run says he is lucky to be alive.
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Stuart Thompson, 66, has had three operations since he was hit by a motorcycle while walking near Tomakin, south of Batemans Bay, on May 23.
“I broke my leg in three places. It was a compound fracture which pricked the skin, so there were bones sticking out,” Mr Thompson said on Tuesday.
“I've got broken and cracked ribs so they've put a plate into my clavicle, which means I can't move at all. My leg was all grazed at the back, so they've had to put a skin graft over it, and then nerve damage going down into my foot.”
On the day of the accident, Mr Thompson was walking from his Mossy Point home to Tomakin to collect his car from a mechanics shop.
“I was walking on an area off to the right of George Bass Drive, which is dirt track and scrub, it's a bit safer,” he said.
That's the last thing he remembers.
Twenty minutes later he woke up and saw blood seeping through his track pants.
“I thought to myself, this doesn't look good,” he said.
The person who hit Stuart hailed down the car of two ladies, aged 81 and 82.
The motorcycle rider then left the scene, and hasn't been seen since.
“If he hadn't waved down those ladies, if he had just left me, I would have died,” Mr Thompson said. “I would have bled to death.”
Mr Thompson doesn't remember what happened next, but understands the women did their best to keep him warm until an ambulance arrived.
He was then taken to Broulee Oval, where the Snowy Hydro Southcare rescue helicopter was waiting to airlift him to Canberra Hospital.
His recovery has been complicated by a previous knee reconstruction, which was destroyed in the accident.
“They have to fit a larger model in with my broken bones,” he said.
“They're talking another three to four weeks, after which I will probably go to stay with my sister in Sydney.”
Stuart's strength is apparent when talking of his injuries, and accepting of the hard work required if he is to make a full recovery.
“I think I'm pretty strong, and I've accepted that this has happened and now I have to do the work.”
He does however, want answers.
“The Police had a look around the area, and roped it off, but really there is not much they can do,” Stuart said.
Anyone with information can phone Batemans Bay Local Area Command on 4472 0099.
