Face smashed in cow collision
CAIRNS motorcylist Andy White broke every bone in his face when he hit a cow at high speed during a ride to Cooktown.
Now in Townsville Hospital, the spray painter has a long recovery ahead of him as he deals with serious injuries from his face to his legs.
Son Mitchell White, of Cairns, said one of the toughest aspects of his father’s injuries was his short-term memory loss.
“Pretty much every day I have to tell him ‘you have broken all the bones in your face’ and it’s almost new to him every time I tell him,” Mr White jnr said.
A GoFundMe appeal has been set up on behalf of Mr White snr.
THE family of a Cairns motorcyclist, who broke every bone in his face in a freak highspeed run-in with a cow, is coming to terms with a long recovery battle for the father of five.
Andy White, 56, was travelling to Cooktown on a lonely section of the Mulligan Highway riding a vintage Harley Davidson when a cow appeared on the road.
Lucky to survive the impact, the spray painter was taken to Cooktown Hospital in a serious condition with facial, abdominal and leg injuries and was later airlifted to Townsville.
His son Mitchell White lives in Cairns and each weekend since the accident on August 21 has been heading south with his own three children to be by his dad’s side.
“He is lucky to be alive,” he said.
“You have 14 bones in your face and he fractured every single one multiple times. All your palate area, the top of your jaw, cheek bones, eye socket. Everything except his skull and his jaw was broken.
“He had a half face helmet on and his face has taken a lot of the impact but his skull was protected.”
Mr White said a high tensile wire barrier probably saved his dad’s life by keeping him and the bike on the road, allowing a passing motorist to spot him and raise the alarm.
“We want to say thank you. If it wasn’t for her he would have bled out on the side of the road,” he said.
Mr White said the toughest thing for the family was coming to terms with extreme short term memory loss.
“Pretty much every day I have to tell him ‘you have broken all the bones in your face’ and it’s almost new to him every time I tell him,” he said.
“Because he can’t remember, he keeps telling me these stories that just can’t be true.
“He thinks the cow was gnawing on his hands and that that’s how he got his scratches.”
RACQ spokeswoman Lucinda Ross said in the past three years the organisation received more than 11,000 claims from across the state for vehicle collisions with animals.
“Nearly 80 per cent of crash claims involved kangaroos but we’ve also had claims come through for run ins with cats, dogs and even cows on Queensland roads,” she said.
Daughter Rachel Harris has set up a GoFundMe appeal on behalf of Mr White to help with medical expenses.