Outback Truckers star sludge facing long road to recovery after serious motorbike accident

The fiancée of Outback Truckers’ Paul ‘Sludge’ Andrews has revealed that the reality TV star is about to be transferred to a hospital for brain rehabilitation after suffering severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident.

The beloved truck driver was rushed to hospital two weeks ago after suffering head injuries, several broken bones, torn tires, bruises and abrasions in the crash.

His fiancé Wendy Kennedy has revealed that he will be transferred on Friday to Fiona Stanley’s brain rehabilitation center in south Perth, where he will begin his long road to recovery.

“It’s a very difficult time,” Ms Kennedy told Daily Mail Australia.

“It will be a very long, slow road for his recovery.

“It’s amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye.”

The latest health setback comes after Sludge suffered broken ribs and bleeding into the lungs earlier this year, just months after popping the question to his longtime partner.

Wendy broke the news of the horror crash in a Facebook post Tuesday night, saying it was miraculous that he survived.

“If Sludge hasn’t responded to your messages, it’s because he was in a very serious motorcycle accident on Saturday, March 4,” she wrote.

“He is extremely lucky to be alive.

“He is still in the hospital but will recover, but it will be a very slow recovery and a long rehabilitation.

“You can be sure that I will take very good care of him if he can come home.

“He suffered a head injury between several broken bones, torn ligaments and lots of bruises and abrasions.”

“It’s been a very stressful time, but I thought you all would like to know where he’s been and what happened.”

The post was flooded with messages from hundreds of well-wishers.

“Good luck, Sludge, on your journey to recovery. Hope all goes well, will be great to see you out and about again mate,” one wrote.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Sludge has been transporting cargo across Oceania for over three decades and owns Paul Andrews Transport.

He was featured in the popular reality TV series Outback Truckers.

With his signature purple 2008 Peterbilt 379 Extended Hood truck, called the Phantom, Mr. Andrews hauled fuel tanker road trains to mining sites all over WA and became famous around the world for his loving personality and hard-working attitude.

Outback Truckers is now showing in 15 countries around the world, including the US, UK, New Zealand and many European countries.

He loves motorcycles as much as he loves trucks.

“Sludge has always loved the adrenaline rush he gets from anything with big horsepower,” says his website.

“He races his nitro Harley Davidson on the dirt drag and loves his Honda motorcycles.”

He proposed to his longtime partner Wendy in November.

“Well I finally mustered up the courage to propose to the love of my life and she said yes, she was looking forward to our new life,” he said at the time.

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia last June, he warned that the transport sector is being crippled by rising costs that could drive smaller operators out of the industry and leave supermarket shelves empty.

“The cost of shipping stuff is skyrocketing because the price of fuel is going up every day,” Sludge said.

“And the thing is, once the fuel goes up, all the transportation costs go up and now parts are much more expensive as well.

“This needs to be added somewhere. That money can’t just disappear. So the prices at your local stores are going up and they will probably keep going up and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

He revealed in another interview that he learned to read and write 15 years ago.

“My kids taught me to read, but I did well. I love what I do and I get to travel across the country,” he told Big Rigs.

“It’s been a great career for me. I think we have to show young people that you don’t have to go to the mines to make good money. Even if you’re not the smartest kid in school, you can still have a great career as a truck driver.”