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Kiwi actor James Rolleston has spoken out about the difficulties he’s had to face after a horrific car crash last year left him in a coma for four weeks.
In a frank and candid interview on All Talk with Anika Moa this week, the Boy star opened up on how the accident had affected him both physically and emotionally.
Last July, Rolleston was critically injured after a car he was driving with his friend Kaleb Maxwell hit a bridge near Opokiti.
According to reports, the crash was so serious that fire crews were needed to free the men from the wreckage. Rolleston was then lifted to Tauranga Hospital in a critical condition.
Rolleston with his friend, and mentor, Cliff Curtis. Photo: Getty Images
In his interview with Moa, Rolleston says he doesn’t really remember anything from the accident.
“It felt like an overnight sleep, I don’t remember anything from the accident… Now I’ve got a rod in both tibias and a rod in my right femur.”
He also spoke about the challenges he’d faced on his road to recovery, which included relearning the basics like brushing his teeth and walking again.
The actor, who also recently starred in the remake of the much-loved Kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie, also touched on how difficult his emotional struggle had been as he came to terms with his injuries.
“Being at the rehabilitation centre, because I was there with so many others, it just really hit me. I was really down with my injuries, I just thought, ‘my career is gone, my whole life’s just gone downhill…’ I started getting borderline depressed.
Rolleston says his time in rehab also helped him to realise “how lucky” he was in comparison to others he was in treatment with who wouldn’t ever live an independent life again.
“It just made me treasure life so much more. Learning to walk or learning to brush my teeth again, I knew how to do that, I knew in my mind. Now I’ve got it back and now I’m just grabbing everything with both hands.”
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