‘We’re really lucky that he’s even here:’ Rigby man survives crash that forced leg amputation

RIGBY — Life changed in a split second for a Rigby man, his friends and family back in September.

Garrett Nelson, 30, was on his way home from work in Roberts on his motorcycle the evening of Sept. 21. When he got near Midway Elementary School in Menan, he noticed an oncoming vehicle drifting into his lane. He tried to get out of the way, but he was hit on his left side by the vehicle. He was thrown into a nearby irrigation canal before he, with the help of the driver who hit him, got Nelson out.

RELATED: 1 man hospitalized following vehicle-motorcycle crash in Menan

“His arm was shattered and his leg, it was awful. There was no saving it,” Andrea Anderson, Nelson’s fiancé told EastIdahoNews.com. “I had seen him on his lunch that day and that’s the last time I’ve seen him walk.”

Around 8:45 p.m. the night of the accident, Anderson hadn’t heard from Nelson. She was worried and went out to look for him. She stumbled upon the accident involving her fiancé and found out he’d recently been intubated and life-flighted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

He received three-and-a-half liters of blood once he got to the hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit where he spent about a week and a half. Nelson broke his left arm and had his left leg amputated above the knee, which contributed to him needing seven surgeries in nine days and a three-week hospital stay.

“He didn’t have a helmet on, and he had no brain trauma. He flew a long way. No internal bleeding. We were really fortunate,” Anderson said. “As unlucky as it seems, we’re really lucky that he’s even here.”

Anderson said Nelson is doing better, but that he has a long road of recovery. He has physical therapy, wound care, prosthetic fittings and doctor appointments each week, but no health insurance to help with the costs.

Nelson was working full-time at QB Construction at the time of the accident. In his more than five years of working there, Anderson said he’s never missed a day of work until the crash. She doesn’t believe he’ll be back to work anytime soon, but despite the hardship, she’s proud of how he’s handling it.

“He’s very optimistic,” she mentioned. “He’s got very good spirits with it, which I was worried about.”

Anderson would like to thank the first responders who showed up and helped care for Nelson during such a traumatic time.

“They made the complete difference,” she said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Nelson. To donate, click here.