In August 2009, Marlborough man Will Stacey's life changed forever.
Will survived an horrific car crash, coma and plenty of trauma and now 11 years later he will ride an e-bike more than 100 kilometres to raise funds for the Princess Alexandra Hospital's brain injury unit on September 4.
The event that changed Will's life was a car accident on a dirt road. His brother David was driving, mate Noel was in the front passenger's seat while Will was in the back.
The single vehicle accident happened when the car collided with a tree then jack-knifed, hitting another tree before slamming into the side of a gully and falling more than four metres to land on its roof.
Will was sitting on the side of the car which received the impact of the second tree.
Noel ran five kilometres to the nearest phone on a cattle property near Marlborough, while David cut Will from his seat belt, dragged him out of the steep gully and kept his airways open until help arrived.
Because of a complication with the rescue chopper, paramedics were first on scene.
The paramedics then had to drive about 70 kilometres to Yamba to meet the RACQ-CQ Care Flight rescue helicopter to make the flight to Rockhampton.
Will said his left lung had collapsed and paramedics spent three hours stabilising him before he was flown to the Royal Brisbane Hospital's intensive care ward.
His injuries included six bleeds to the right hemisphere of the brain, and a torn centre cortex, which affects balance.
He spent the next six months re-learning how to walk.
"I also had a broken nose, jaw and three ribs, one of which pierced my left lung and I was on life support for 17 days and in a coma for 19," Will said.
Will was then transferred to the Princess Alexandra brain injury unit where he would use a granny walker to go to the physio ward and use an exercise bike to pass the time.
Finally after six months of rehabilitation Will made it home to Marlborough.
He said he tried to ride his sister's mountain bike only to fall off multiple times due to his balance issues from the crash.
"My father then bought me a six speed tricycle, and I spent four months riding up to 25km plus a day on the tricycle before trying successfully to ride my sister's bike," Will said.
Will is now planning to ride his e-bike 100km to nearby Stanage Bay with three of his friends to raise funds for the PA's brain injury unit.
PA Research Foundation chief executive officer Damian Topp said the funds would be raised through their Team PARF platform.
"Will has chosen to direct his fundraising efforts towards the PA Hospital's brain injury rehabilitation unit, and every dollar will be given to the unit who will decide the best way to use those funds that will have the most benefit to patients and their families," he said.
If anyone wishes to donate to Will's Team PARF fundraising page visit https://www.teamparf.org.au/users/will-stacey.
Any amount over $2 is tax deductible.