PORTAGE, Ind. — Matt Reum, the man at the center of a miraculous rescue in Indiana last week, is offering a message of gratitude to start the new year.
Reum posted on social media for the first time since the crash that left him trapped in a mangled truck for six days across the Christmas holiday. The 27-year-old from Mishawaka, Indiana thanked everyone for reaching out and donating to his GoFundMe for medical expenses.
In his Facebook post on Monday, Reum called the rescue a ‘Christmas miracle,’ adding that the ordeal has since turned him into ‘the most grateful person ever.’
Let’s break some silence, to everyone, and I mean the hundreds and thousands of people who have tried calling, texting, messaging, commenting, donating, and showing up to things like Corby’s to support me, there will never be enough graditude I can show.
You guys turned an ordinary person who had a miracle happen and made him the most grateful person ever and I can not thank you enough. While me living through this, in and of itself is a Christmas miracle, the generosity I have been shown has grown my heart three sizes this year.
This will be a long road to recovery, and there will be dips and bends and curves. But I feel like with all of you behind me I’ll be able to tackle anything. So for now thank you. And for the future, let’s get this, and Happy New Years.
Matt Reum on Facebook
Last Tuesday, the Boilermakers Local 374 union worker was pulled from a mangled truck under Interstate 94 in Portage, Indiana.
Reum survived for nearly a week on rainwater, ISP added. Troopers believe Reum’s vehicle veered off I-94 sometime on Dec. 20, leaving Reum trapped for days.
Two fishermen, Nivardo Delatorre and his father-in-law, Mario Garcia, were walking near a creek along I-94 when they spotted the crashed vehicle and alerted the authorities.
SEE ALSO: Indiana man rescued after surviving 6 days in wrecked truck thankful for ‘outpouring of support’
“We just called 911 and just sat by his side until we got the help,” Delatorre told reporters in the aftermath.
Initially airlifted to Memorial Hospital in critical condition, Reum’s condition has since improved. Union representatives said part of Reum’s left leg was amputated “about mid-shin down” following the crash and rescue.
A GoFundMe to help with Reum’s medical expenses and recovery has amassed more than $80,000.
Last week, in a statement issued on his behalf, Reum thanked the two fishermen who found him, the first responders who rescued him and his caregivers at Memorial Hospital.
