A young southwest Victorian truck driver has received an outpouring of support after she lost both her legs in a horrific accident when she was trapped in her truck for 11 hours.
Michelle Pillar was driving a livestock carrier along Carlisle Rd near Black Ridge in early January when the truck rolled and became stuck between a tree and a bridge.
The 25-year-old was trapped for 11 hours before emergency services got to her and had to amputate one of her legs below her knee to free her from the truck cabin.
Later in hospital Ms Pillar’s other leg had to be amputated due to an infection and she was put on life support while in an induced coma for a week as doctors worked to save her life.
Since the accident, doctors have also uncovered a spinal cord infection and the young woman has been in and out of surgery almost daily.
Ms Pillar has since received ongoing support in the form of a donation tin at the Mortlake Roadhouse, donations of auction items and a GoFundMe set up by her brother-in-law, Ignatius Corboy.
“Michelle is a bright-eyed, blond-haired, hardworking young girl,” the fundraiser reads.
“My personal aim is to get Michelle back on her feet, so she can dance again, run again, and be the remarkable independent woman she is again.”
Mr Corboy said he couldn’t imagine anyone who was “strong enough” to put up with “such a struggle”.
Over the past three weeks, Michelle has undergone surgery almost every day and is heavily sedated.
“Due to Covid restrictions, family have been really limited to go and visit her unfortunately,” Mr Corboy told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“So she doesn’t really have the support of a family by her side … but you can imagine the impact this has had on her.”
Mr Corboy said the 25-year-old is the “most unlikely person to be driving trucks”, but that’s what drives her.
The young woman always has a “can do” attitude, despite living a life of tragedy losing her young mother as a child days before Christmas.
“Her father’s a truck driver, he’s a txjmtzywruck driver, and she just told him ‘I can do it too’ and she was very good at it,” Mr Corboy said.
“But now she’ll never drive again.
“Her life has sadly changed forever, but we just have to make the most of what she’s got.”
With all the surgery and fighting for her life in hospital, Mr Corboy said the 25-year-old doesn’t really know what’s going on.
As she is slowly coming to terms with her new reality, Ms Pillars still has a long road of recovery ahead of her.
The GoFundMe has been set up to assist with mental health care, future operations, rehabilitation and changes to her living arrangements.
“Her entire little bodies just broken and it’s absolutely tragic to see someone so beautiful and so vibrant, being struck down,” Mr Corboy said.
More than $100,000 has been raised by the local community to help Ms Pillar, including more than $10,000 from the GoFundMe which was started on January 13.
