UPDATE: North man recovering at home after motorcycle accident
Donavan Palm is recovering at home after surviving a horrific motorcycle accident at the end of May.
A young man is recovering at home from an horrific accident that nearly claimed his life on 31 May.
The 23-year-old Donavan Palm was driving his motorcycle along the R21 highway when he crashed into a stationary bakkie at an accident scene.
“The bakkie’s lights were off and before I could swerve out I drove into the left side of the bakkie,” Palm told Rekord.
It has been almost two weeks since Palm signed himself out of the rehabilitation centre to recover at home.
He is, however, still undergoing physio and occupational therapy as he needs to learn how to walk again.
“I couldn’t lie in rehab anymore, I wanted to go home. In rehab you lie around for 23 hours and you only do about one hour of therapy a day. That is why I wanted to go home.”
All of Palm’s injuries are on the right side of his body.
His right arm is still paralysed and he has no feeling in his right hand due to damage to nerves in his neck.
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“I don’t know how long it will take for feeling to come back. It could take months or years.”
On Tuesday, Palm got the go-ahead to start walking again.
He is, however, only allowed to put only 20% of his weight on his right leg.
“I walk with a crutch in my left hand, and my wife on the right-hand side.”
His right foot is also still paralysed due to torn muscles and he has undergone numerous operations to repair the damage including hip replacement because he shattered his pelvis in the accident.
Palm said he can’t recall anything about the accident.
At the accident scene, Palm had sent his wife Carmen a voice note to tell her he loved her.
“I do, however, remember thinking to myself, ‘I am going to die’.”
Although it is still a long road to recovery, Palm said the support of his wife has pulled him through the worst.
“She takes care of me 24/7. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
Palm will see his doctor again on 5 August who will decide if he needs a follow-up operation.
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