By Jessica Anstice
With two shattered bones in his neck, six cracked ribs, pneumonia and internal bleeding in his chest and brain, Kelvin Rees is miraculously on his road to recovery.
The much-loved 79-year-old, who spent years voluntarily cleaning the streets of Pakenham, was fighting for his life after a hit-run in Pakenham Place car park on 12 November.
Mr Rees, also known as ‘Lefty’, was released out of ICU on Monday 25 November and remains in a ward at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.
After being in a coma for four days, it was expected Mr Rees would be a quadriplegic due to losing strength in the right side of his body, however he has taken everyone by surprise.
“He will be in a wheelchair for a while and the nurses don’t think he’ll be able to walk but if he does, he won’t be able to walk far because he won’t have the balance. But anything can happen in six months,” family friend Catrina Miller said.
“Each day is different – the other day he was still sedated and had a breathing tube in.
“He’ll probably go to rehab soon to build up strength.”
Mr Rees’ wife Karen sarcastically said he is “already giving the nurses a hard time”.
“He is starting to get argumentative now so we know he’s on the mend,” Mrs Rees laughed.
“I asked him if he thinks I need a haircut and he said ‘yeah, you need a haircut’, so he’s getting there.”
Once Mr Rees goes into rehab, Mrs Rees says she’s going to buy him a broom to sweep the corridors in the hospital.
“Kel won’t ever sweep that street again and that’s really sad for him,” she said.
“The first thing we’re going to do when he gets out of hospital, is take him down Main Street to say hello to everyone.
“It’s nice to know that he was appreciated.”
In the meantime, a fundraising barbecue has been organised by Mr Rees’ close friends Doreen Boath, Rachael Simpson and Erin Campbell.
The barbecue will be held on Thursday 28 November from 7.30am to 4pm outside Coles at Pakenham Place with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the family.
“On behalf on Karen and I, we would like to thank the community for doing everything they have done – it’s wonderful,” Ms Miller said.
“The people around town and the shop owners have been really lovely.”
