By Steph Allen

Nationwide support has flooded in for paralysed Orange Emus player, Andrew Regan, who recently suffered a severe spinal injury in the first round of the Central West Rugby season.

During the game, Andrew tragically suffered a broken neck and was immediately unable to feel anything from the chest down.

A GoFundMe page was created for the local father on May 4 — with a whopping $243,592 raised in just two days.

Dubbo Rugby Club recently announced that it would also be raising money for Andrew and his family over the next four home games with donation bins situated around the ground and a number of raffles being held throughout home games.

Andrew’s sister Katy recently shared the news of the fundraiser on her photography page, “Rope and Pulley”.

“Just under two weeks ago, my amazing brother suffered a severe spinal injury while playing rugby. The injury has left him an incomplete quadriplegic,” she said.

“If you know my brother, you’ll know him to be an absolute larrikin in the best sense of the world.

“I remember chatting to Andrew after he’d moved to Gulargambone, and I asked him if he was lonely. He said ‘moving is easy, the best thing you can do is go and join a footy club. Pretty quickly you’ll have a bunch of mates and feel a part of the community’.

“Andrew has a long road ahead of him, but he’s always relished a challenge…his first message to the family, painstakingly spelt out via an alphabet board was ‘I just want to say I love you and it’s a mere flesh wound’.

“My brother’s incredible friends have set up (a GoFundMe page) to help him, (wife) Jessie and his 12-month-old son (Angus) as they rebuild their lives.”

After he sustained the injury during the local game, Andrew was flown from Orange Base Hospital. Royal North Shore Spinal Unit where he underwent over eight hours of surgery to stabilise his cervical spine.

Andrew suffered a C4/C5 incomplete spinal cord injury, yet much is still unknown about what recovery will look like during the long road ahead. All that can be said at the moment, is that Andrew is paralysed from the chest down and has very limited arm movement.

However, it remains too early for doctors to confidently predict a long-term outcome. Andrew will spend three more months at Royal North Shore before another three months at Ryde Rehabilitation Hospital.

To donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rallyforreegs.

All funds raised go towards helping Andrew and Jessie meet their needs and living expenses moving forward including: medical expenses, rehabilitation, accommodation, necessary medical equipment, and the needs of their young son.