Ed Dormon was riding on State Highway 45 in Taranaki on his way home from his job at a rest home on May 12 when he saw a van fail to stop where the Ketemarae and Hauroto Roads intersect.
An oncoming campervan swerved to avoid the van, and the 23-year-old was unable to avoid a collision with the other vehicle.
“We both swerved to try avoid each other, but there just wasn’t enough space,” Dormon said.
“I’d already started slowing down when I saw the van coming up as he looked like he was going too fast to stop at the stop sign, and I honestly thought the campervan and van were going to collide.”
What happened next was a blur, and the next thing Dormon knew he was on his back on the road.
“All I could see was sky and the corners of my helmet,” he said.
The occupants of the campervan rushed to his side, giving him basic first aid, keeping him awake and talking, “and not quite so, frankly, terrified”.
“I knew something was wrong with my left leg, that it was stuck up in the air and bent at the knee - I couldn’t move it at all. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Members of the public stopped to help, including a former coworker, “who was incredibly comforting to see”.
Ed Dormon has been in hospital since May 12.
“Things get pretty jumbled memory-wise after the first few minutes of the crash,” he said.
While the experience was “quite terrifying”, the adrenaline and distractions provided by people around him helped him cope while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
Two volunteer firefighters showed up and applied tourniquets to Dormon’s leg, which was “very painful”.
“After that, I don’t know how long it was until I heard distant sirens and I was told the ambulance was nearly there. From there on, I don’t remember anything until Monday [May 13] night, when I woke up in the ICU.”
Dormon had been flown in a critical condition to Auckland for surgery, and was put in an induced coma.
He was still intubated and heavily sedated on Monday night.
“I was told then that my left leg had been amputated below the knee. I couldn’t speak, but used gestures and alphabet sheets to very slowly communicate. I don’t remember everything I asked, but I know I asked if I could still be a caregiver and foster cats, [whether] my own cats were all right, and about letting my friends know what had happened,” he said.
He was sedated again until Tuesday night and had forgotten again about his leg being amputated, “but during the night I could tell something was wrong.”
Ed Dormon spent about a week in an induced coma after the crash.
“I asked the doctors taking care of me to take a photo of my leg, and they did, but the combination of the angle, lighting and medications meant I still couldn’t tell what I was looking at. I asked again a few hours later for a photo of both my legs, and that’s when I understood part of my leg was gone.
“I can’t really compare that feeling to anything else I’ve experienced, especially once I was sitting up and able to see the absence. It still took a while before I was able to start accepting my leg really wasn’t coming back - I’m still trying to accept it, to be honest.”
His left femur is also broken and there are several bones in his dominant hand which are broken, but he is otherwise uninjured.
“I think that’s a pretty good testament to good riding gear - my phone wasn’t even smashed. I do have a lot of phantom limb pain, much more than regular pain.”
Dormon spent about a week in the ICU before being moved to the ward.
“It’s been a bit of a blur, really. I’ve met with a lot of specialists who’ve told me a lot of things that I don’t really remember because I’m still working on accepting that my leg and my life are forever changed.”
Now more time has passed and Dormon has had time to reflect on what happened, he says his mental health following the crash was “incredibly low”.
“I already have mental health difficulties and had been working hard to overcome them to achieve the life I want. I have always gotten over roadblocks, but this is the biggest one I’ve ever faced.
Dormon said he was heavily medicated when health staff initially told him his leg was amputated, and had forgotten about it by his next waking.
“I’m scared for my future. I felt I had finally set myself towards a life worth enjoying and getting up for. And while it’s not necessarily lost, it is very much on hold.”
He has had a “huge” amount of support from his community.
His family have launched a fundraising effort to help Dormon as he recovers and learns to regain independence.
“Ed faces a long and challenging journey ahead as he learns to navigate life with a disability,” the Givealittle page read.
Any money fundraised will go towards aspects of Dormon’s recovery and rehabilitation that may not be covered by ACC or the public health system. This might include prosthetics technology, training for new skills needed to navigate his new reality, and any other medical costs that are not covered.
At the time this article was published, the page had raised $7950.
A police spokesman confirmed they were investigating the crash, and no charges have been laid at this time.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
