Angus McLeod remembers only fragments of the aftermath of the life-changing incident.
He can recall waking up on a road with “blood coming out of my head”.
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He can remember being put into an ambulance. Then he remembers waking up in intensive care and “seeing doctors and nurses”.
“Those first couple of days were just so quick,” McLeod told 7NEWS.
The 25-year-old Brisbane man spent more than two days in intensive care in Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital suffering a fractured skull and brain injury after being allegedly attacked last year.
He cannot talk about the circumstances of the incident because an accused man is before the courts.
When McLeod regained consciousness, he couldn’t hear or walk and his face was partially paralysed.
“I lost control of my vestibular system, which is in charge of your balance,” he said.
“That’s probably one of the toughest things to get control of.
“You just lose a lot of your ability to walk, which is part of your livelihood.”
McLeod initially communicated with his family via writing and text-to-voice phone apps.
He has since been given a cochlear implant for his hearing, but other elements of his recovery have been more challenging.
Leisa Turkington, a senior speech pathologist at the RBWH, said McLeod had suffered damage to the nerve that controls his tongue.
“He was quickly adapting to using a straw and placement of food on the other side (of his face) to avoid him biting his face,” she said.
“He showed a lot of resilience and adapted very quickly, but it was our job to accurately assess the impact on his function.”
McLeod said his rehabilitation work at the RBWH is “why I’m here today”.
A budding stand-up comedian, he hasn’t ruled out making his ordeal part of his routines.
“I’m not afraid to talk about what happened to me. I think that’s part of the reason I’m here today,” he said.
“Being able to go, ‘Hey, bad things happen to good people all the time’. I’m happy to make a joke about it.”
McLeod shared his story this week to promote the RBWH Foundation’s “giving day” on Tuesday, June 14.