An Indiana man whose leg was amputated after he was rescued from a mangled car under an interstate bridge after 6 days has praised the outpouring of kindness he’s received since his accident.
Matt Reum, 27, had a leg amputated above the shin and was in intensive care, also receiving treatment for a broken hand and a break to his other leg.
“It’s been a week and a day since I was rescued and for that I am beyond happy,” he said in a Facebook post Thursday.
“I have had and seen more love and random acts of kindness, I’ve seen random people donate money, that I find it hard to even think about. I’ve had people reach out from California, from Connecticut, Minnesota to Washington, Fort Lauderdale … random people who’ve seen the news and seen my story,” he said.
Matt Reum.via GoFundMe
Holding back tears, Reum said that while his story was a tragedy, he said he was hugely grateful for the positive messages and monetary donations.
Reum’s pickup careered off the I-94 near Portage, about 40 miles southeast of Chicago, and into a creek under the bridge where he survived by drinking rainwater.
Reum was eventually found by a man and his father-in-law who were out fishing and approached the pickup out of curiosity.
Reum has moved out of intensive care and into rehab, he said, and is working on adapting to his new-found disability. Doctors have begun to discuss when he could be discharged.
“I never thought that at 27 I would have to start worrying about how I get around and what’s the best way for me to get into bed or sit on a toilet,” he said.
“There are so many things that you guys have taken the burden off of,” he said, referring to the more than $90,000 donated through a GoFundMe page to cover medical bills. He would move to a new apartment suitable for a wheelchair, he said.
Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.