MOTORCYCLE crash victim Mathew Taylor has spoken from his hospital bed to say "thank you" to the people of Derbyshire for raising money to bring him home.
Though he can say only a few words at a time, the 31-year-old, who spent months in a coma, said how "proud" he was of the way county families had rallied to his aid.
Teacher Mathew was critically injured in July 2011 in a motorcycle accident in Bali, where he was working as a teacher.
He was uninsured and his devastated family, who had to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for a series of complex operations in Bali, pleaded for help to get him back to the UK.
After their heartfelt appeal in the Derby Telegraph, donations poured in and they were able to bring him home.
Now, despite initial fears from medical experts he might never recover, Mathew has regained consciousness and spoken of his feelings for the support he has been given.
From his bed at the Royal Derby Hospital, he said: "I am proud of people. I want to say thank you and, when I'm better, I want to try to see some of them.
"My family gave me good luck. Don't give up on people. They didn't."
He is in the King's Lodge unit at the hospital, which provides rehabilitation to patients with complex neurological disabilities. Family members are at his bedside every day.
He said he remembered only a few details about the accident and could not recall his flight back to the UK or his time at Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, before being transferred to Derby. He said his first memories following the crash began after he was transferred to the Derby hospital.
Mathew, formerly of Derby, said: "I remember being read issues of the Derby Telegraph and I'd like to say well done to the paper."
One of the people he wanted to thank especially was 12-year-old Laura Gee, of Carlisle Avenue, Littleover, who played her harp at his hospital bedside and other public events to raise more than £200 to help him recover.
He said: "I wanted to thank her. I'd like to buy her some flowers."
Mathew's father Darrell, of Trowels Lane, Derby, said his son had made good progress in the past few weeks and was whispering words, nodding his head and trying to sit up unaided in bed.
He said: "As you can imagine, Mat is a little confused after a long period of low awareness.
"Mostly, he gets things right when asked but sometimes he doesn't. His short-term memory may be impaired as he sometimes can't remember seeing members of his family earlier the same day. He has asked about the condition of his body and said he is worried about it but doctors have explained to him how he is progressing."
While in hospital, Mathew is given occupational, physio and speech therapy and Darrell said he was very happy with the care his son was being given at the Royal Derby Hospital.
He said: "I'm hopeful that, in time, he can make a reasonable recovery but there are some things he will always struggle with."
