After being seriously injured in motorcycle accident, Paul ‘Sludge’ Andrews has now been transferred from hospital to a rehabilitation centre, as he continues his recovery.
Many would recognise Sludge from his regular appearances on popular television series Outback Truckers, together with his 2008 Peterbilt 379 called ‘The Phantom’.
Sludge was rushed to hospital on March 4, following a motorcycle incident. It happened just around the corner from home, as he went to get dinner with his 16-year-old son Shaun, who was following behind him on a scooter.
Sludge’s fiancé Wendy told Big Rigs that he suffered some serious injuries. “He can’t remember the accident. He was unconscious for about five minutes. He’s going to make a full recovery but the main thing is the injuries to his head,” she said.
“Sludge had a quite nasty head injury, including a brain bleed. That bleeding has stopped now, but he’s also fractured his forehead and eye socket, so there’s quite bad head trauma. That’s the biggest thing slowing him down.”
Sludge also suffered nine broken ribs, several broken bones, torn ligaments, fractured both cheek bones and had lots of bruising and abrasions.
“Seeing him in such a bad way has been really hard. He’s slept so much these past two week as he’s been in excruciating pain with his head,” added Wendy.
“He had two black eyes and blood shot eyes and was black and blue. There were grazes on his back and his elbows. All the cosmetic stuff is starting to clear up so if you looked at his face now, you wouldn’t know it, the injuries are all internal.
“The surgeons said he won’t need surgery, it will all heal on its own. He’s pretty determined and strong-willed. He’s not like your average person and if he had his way he’d be coming home. But it’s going to be a long and slow recovery.”
The incident comes not long after Sludge’s recovery from a recent jet ski accident that occurred at the end of December last year. It left him side-lined and unable to work for six weeks, after he suffered seven broken ribs.
After a rough few months, Wendy says she and Sludge are hoping to take a much needed break once her fiancé is well enough. “He’s busted his arse for 35 years and had to rebuild after almost losing everything. He lost his best mate two years ago and that was a big turning point for him,” she said.
“I think the whole trucking industry has been very tough. We’ve been talking about going travelling together once he is better. We have a caravan and are seriously thinking of doing a working holiday around Australia.”