Well known truckie Paul ‘Sludge’ Andrews is undergoing more surgery, as he continues his long recovery after a motorcycle accident earlier this year.
The truck driver, who many know from his regular appearances on Outback Truckers, together with his purple 2008 Peterbilt 379 called ‘The Phantom’, was rushed to hospital on Saturday March 4.
The accident left him with significant injuries including a brain injury, broken ribs, several broken bones, torn ligaments, fractured cheek bones and lots of bruising and abrasions.
It’s been a long road of rehabilitation and it could still be quite a while before he’s able to get back behind the wheel of his rig, but he remains hopeful of returning to the driver’s seat.
Yesterday, Sludge was back in hospital, for surgery on both knees. In a video he shared with his Facebook followers, Sludge said, “Just going in for surgery on my knees today, so it’s been a long six months but here we go, hopefully this will get rid of it and we’ll be right.”
A GoFundMe page was set up to assist Sludge and his fiancé Wendy, to help cover costs while the truckie’s business is on hold. So far $18,688 has been raised of the $25,000 target.
Sludge thanked everyone who has supported them through these tough few months.
And many of his fans shared their well wishes.
“Good luck Sludge. Wishing you a speedy recovery and hope you are back on the road again soon. Much respect mate,” wrote Gary Johnson.
Bev Fowler said, “Good luck Sludge, one more step to getting better. Looking forward to seeing you back in your rig.”
While Sam Rychlak added, “Hope all goes well Sludge. Miss seeing you & phantom on the road. Hope you have a quick recovery.”