PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A young Valley couple is going through unimaginable challenges this holiday season after a motorcycle accident flipped their world upside down.
Now, they’re looking to raise awareness on the dangers of motorcycle crashes in the Valley.
Brandon McNally, 36, has been riding motorcycles almost his entire life. However, he was involved in an accident earlier this year, changing his life forever.
On April 4, McNally was riding his motorcycle on his way to pick up his soon-to-be wife when he was struck by a car near 7th Street and Indian School Road.
“All I remember is seeing the headlights of a car on my left hand side. I jumped, I pushed myself up over the handlebars…crushed my leg. I don’t remember hitting the ground,” he described. “The next thing I remember is I was laying there and I had a really bad pain in the back of my neck.”
“I kept trying to move, and I couldn’t move. I didn’t realize at the time you’d broke your neck and you’re paralyzed,” he added.
McNally was rushed into surgery immediately, where doctors fused his vertebrae in several places. He had no use of his legs and little use of his hands.
McNally will likely spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. His fiancée, Erika Gustafson, now serves as his caretaker.
“I was waiting, didn’t hear from him and then I got a call from a random woman saying she had hit him. From there, it was just hard, really hard,” said Gustafson. “Every day is hard, for sure.”
“He’s mentally changed a lot. He’s not really the same person at all. So, just dealing with that alone has been super hard on me. Not to mention the physical part of it, having to move him, change him, do all that stuff,” she added.
While physical rehab came with its own challenges, so did mental setbacks as well.
“Probably mentally and emotionally has been the hardest part for me to accept with everything. Knowing that I have to live like this for the rest of my life,” McNally said.
McNally’s fiancé created the Brandon McNally Foundation, which raises awareness of the most dangerous intersections for motorcycle crashes across the Valley.
The young couple says in their petition that they hope the Arizona Department of Transportation will post signs around the Valley asking drivers to watch out for motorcycle riders.
“I want people to just look. Pay attention. One reminder out there would help someone not die or someone not become like this. That would make me happy,” Gustafson said.
If you are interested in supporting the couple’s cause, you can sign the petition or make a donation.
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