EXCLUSIVE
The son of a reality TV veteran who was hit by a train and suffered horrific injuries is spending Christmas with his family after making a miraculous recovery.
Drew Dowsley, 30, had suffered a mental health episode and asked for help before the devastating incident on September 15.
He somehow survived the catastrophic tragedy, but then lay helpless and alone by the tracks for seven hours as his life faded away, before he was fatefully discovered.
Her mother, celebrity makeup artist Helen Dowsley, was working on the set of the reality show Farmer Wants A Wife when she received the terrible news.
“It was a normal day at work, I didn’t know the horror that was unfolding,” Helen told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The last time I spoke to him he was asking the hospital for help and naturally I thought they would help him.
“I didn’t know they had refused until I got a phone call the next day telling me he had been hit by a train and had been airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital.”
Mr Dowsley suffered a series of life-changing injuries, including the loss of a hand, three brain bleeds, a broken chest plate, broken ribs and a shattered spine.
Since then, Mr Dowsley has undergone multiple operations.
Drew Dowsley (pictured) is home for Christmas but still has a long recovery ahead of him
Drew Dowsley spent months in hospital recovering from multiple serious injuries (pictured)
Mum Helen Dowsley (pictured with Abbie Chatfield) was working on set when she discovered her son was in hospital.
“They took the glove off her left hand and couldn’t save her,” her mother said.
‘They took donor skin from his right thigh to cover the ‘gaping’ hole, as they called it, over his wrist.
‘They have to put a steel plate on his wrist to hold his thumb to his wrist. There is no other skeleton in his hand. There is no hand. Just a big piece of skin.
“His body was completely destroyed, as you can imagine when he was hit by a train.”
Three months later, Helen still can’t believe medical professionals turned her son away and asked them for help.
The hospital’s reason for refusing to deal with him was that he had not hurt himself or others and posed no apparent danger, Dowsley said.
‘In fact, they told him that there were other people who needed his help more than him.
He was clearly in a state of psychosis in the hospital but they turned him away. It was absolutely horrible and I just couldn’t believe it. I still can’t.
“It makes me so angry and also so sad that my adorable son asked for help but was denied and was in such a terrible state that he then went and threw himself in front of a train.”
But the joy at her son’s return home in time to celebrate Christmas is clouded by worry about the months of costly surgeries and recovery that now await him.
Helen Dowsley’s son Drew (pictured) suffered life-changing injuries after being hit by a train during a mental health crisis.
Abbie Chatfield has led a host of Australian stars offering their support to her ‘beautiful friend’ Helen Dowsley (pictured together)
Helen worked globally with the world’s biggest stars including Ed Sheeran (pictured together)
Helen Dowsley is pictured on set with Pia Miranda
Her friends say Helen is the most loving mother to her children (pictured)
“We went to the specialist last week and at this point we know that there will be at least three surgeries on his hand to be able to get a prosthesis,” he revealed.
‘People think that Medicare will cover all their treatments but that is not the case.
“He’s only been out of the hospital for five days. We don’t really know how much it will cost, but it will be huge and he will need considerable ongoing treatment for the rest of his life.
‘He needs a lot of help for all his injuries, as well as his post-traumatic stress disorder.
“After seeing the doctor at the amputee center, he needs a prosthetic that will cost him at least $100,000…probably more.”
Australian television stars reunited after Drew’s accident to share the GoFundMe Campaign created to help cover medical costs.
Describing the make-up artist as “the most generous and beautiful woman”, reality personality Abbie Chatfield said Helen always looked after everyone on set.
“She’s the one who advises us during the dramas of our lives on set, and now it’s our turn to support her and Drew,” he wrote.
Helen says celebrity support has humbled her.
“It’s incredibly emotional to hear and read the support Drew and I have received,” she added.
‘Waking up to a message from a celebrity I’ve looked after or looked after for years has been simply wonderful.
‘Friends from school I hadn’t seen in years, to complete strangers sending me words of hope, was something that kept me going.
‘My friend Abbie Chatfield put out a call. It was incredibly kind of them and I am so grateful.
‘I couldn’t believe they would take their time and hard-earned money to help a stranger. Drew and I are so touched and eternally grateful.
“All of this, this terrible tragedy, could have easily been avoided if the hospital had helped Drew and not turned him away.”
For confidential crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Beyond the blue 1300 22 4636