A DAD-of-four from Wigtownshire has thanked the ambulance crews who rushed to the scene of a horror car crash which rendered him paralysed from the neck down.
Luke Louden broke 33 bones and sustained life-changing injuries to his spinal cord after colliding with a tree just outside his home village of Whauphill last August.
Recalling the harrowing incident, the 31 year-old said: “The road is quite uneven being built over marsh land. I lost control, hit a tree and was thrown down into a field.”
On arrival, ambulance crews treated Luke’s dislocated left shoulder and fractured fibula and tibia.
However, it wasn’t until later that day that the severity of his injuries were realised.
“On arriving at the hospital,” he said, “it was discovered I had also sustained incomplete damage to my spinal cord at C7 T1, leaving me a quadriplegic.”
Luke stressed he “cannot express” his gratitude for the paramedics in attendance on the day – some of which were deployed by Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) – who he praised for being “highly professional”.
He explained that their “efficient treatment” had saved his left leg.
“Slow and painful” were the words used by Luke to describe his long recovery from the crash.
He continued: “I have struggled with Allodynia, which means the slightest breath to an area causes severe pain. It’s been a steep learning curve, not to mention all the medication I now have to take and the side effects many of them come with.
“While in the spinal unit you have a lot of time to think about negative things like ‘why me?’, ‘what have I done to deserve this?’ and loads of pointless negative thoughts, but thankfully I had my faith which has given me great comfort.
“Not only getting to grips with the change to my lifestyle has been hard but the separation from my wife and four young children has been almost unbearable. I have missed birthdays, seeing our son learn to stand and take his first steps.”
Despite missing some key family milestones whilst in hospital, the dad was happy to make it back home in time for his son’s first birthday on December 18th.
He said that after eight months, he’s slowly coming to terms with being a quadriplegic and knowing “this is me for life”.
However, Luke is holding onto hope that he will move his arms and legs again one day – and has set up an online fundraising page to help fund his recovery.
So far he’s raised more than £7200 and asked people to “please donate even if it’s only a pound”, adding: “It could potentially change my life”.
Visit www.gofund.me/30b7157c to follow Luke’s journey and donate.
