Mark Somervell, who lost a leg in a crash in the US, hopes to be home within two weeks.
Mark Somervell, who lost a leg in a crash in the US, hopes to be home within two weeks.
Kiwi crash survivor inundated with messages.
An Auckland man who lost a leg in a horror motorbike crash in America says he has cheated death.
Mark Somervell is recovering from marathon surgery to save his remaining badly-injured leg, knowing if it wasn't for the quick actions of strangers after the crash in Los Angeles County he would not have survived.
The 21-year-old was returning home on his Kawasaki ZX6 on August 2 when he came off his bike and slid into a road barrier, shearing his left leg above the knee and leaving his right leg barely attached.
"I shouldn't be talking to you right now," Somervell told the Herald on Sunday from his Huntington Memorial Hospital bed. "I should be in a coffin because I bled out on the side of the road."
Despite losing a leg and the fate of his second leg uncertain, Somervell, who had recently shifted to America to further his career as an arborist, was slowly coming to terms with the high cost of running an errand on a day off work.
"It's pretty hard looking down and seeing one leg gone just below the knee and realising I'm never going to be able to use that leg again."
But he'd been buoyed by visits from those who tended to him at the accident scene.
They included paramedics who applied life-saving tourniquets to stem bleeding from both severed legs and motorist Heather Tervet, who was the first person to come to his aid, urging him to keep awake as they waited for help to arrive.
The aftermath of the motorcycle crash in California.
A fellow motorcyclist who a few years earlier suffered a horrific injury on the same road and who came across the accident scene had also visited Somervell in hospital, offering moral and financial support.
The events had blurred into a melting pot of memories and flashbacks and Somervell could only recall riding into the crest of the road and needing to avoid something.
"I remember a panic in my head thinking, 'I've got to avoid it but there's not many places I can go', then that's it."
He appreciated how Tervet had selflessly stopped despite the gruesome scene.
"The big thing was when you see a motorcyclist down with legs cut up it was really cool of her to stop," he said.
"You just want to feel sick because of the extent of the injuries.
"The last thing you want to do is make sure they're okay."
Somervell had also been inundated by well wishes from friends in New Zealand and strangers across the United States who sent him gifts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
"When you are sitting in hospital and feeling kind of down it's so nice to be able to get on your phone and see all the messages. I'm so thankful for everyone's support."
Somervell said he was now taking life one surgery at a time and optimistic about saving his remaining leg.
He had nothing but praise for the specialist surgical teams doing everything they could to save the limb.
His father Peter, who flew to America to be at his son's bedside, said he hoped Mark would be able to return to New Zealand in a fortnight where he would continue his recuperation.
