‘The Dishes Were Still There’: How e-bike tragedy inspired epic ride

Jaaden Abraham was a much-loved son, brother, uncle and friend, a ‘beautiful, wild soul’. After he lost his life in an e-bike accident, his family were left heartbroken. But from that grief has come new light. This is their story.

Ross Abraham during 'The Longest Ride' from Perth to Byron Bay for the charity Beautiful Crazy, which is supplying care bags to grieving families in Intensive Care Units at a growing number of Australian hospitals. Photo: Jude Kalman.

It was the Netflix series that was only half-finished, the bag of chips they bought him still in the pantry, the dishes from their last meal together in the dishwasher … there was heartbreak in every last detail.

Ross and Kathy Abraham had just lost their only son, 31-year-old Jaaden, in an e-bike accident and were packing up the tiny home that held his huge life, but every drawer and every little item left them blindsided with grief.

On April 14 last year, the parents received the knock on the door that no one ever wants to hear. Police informed them their son had been in a serious accident, hitting the kerb and coming off his e-bike on Ewingsdale Road in Byron Bay, suffering a catastrophic brain injury.

For four days they sat by their son’s side in the Intensive Care Unit at Gold Coast University Hospital, riding a rollercoaster of hope, despair and denial as they prayed for a miracle.

On the fourth day, they made the heartbreaking decision to allow his body to be used for organ donation, with their son’s death saving the lives of at least six other Australians.

And every day since then has been anything but easy.

Jaaden Abraham lost his life in a tragic e-bike accident.

But one year later, it’s focusing on the little things that have helped them cope with their loss.

In their darkest hours in the ICU, as Mr Abraham and his wife, both pastors and founders of Burleigh’s Elevation Church, slept on couches in the visitor room, one of their friends dropped off a laundry basket full of essential supplies like blankets, lip balm, and even Panadol that proved to be a godsend.

It was a small gesture with a huge impact, one that gave them purpose in the weeks and months after Jaaden’s death, as they decided to start a charity, Beautiful Crazy, to provide care packages for families going through a similar ordeal.

Beautiful Crazy currently provides care bags to Gold Coast University, Tweed Valley, Royal Brisbane & Women’s, Princess Alexandra, St Vincent’s Private Brisbane and Queensland Children’s hospitals, but the list is growing ever since Mr Abraham started his own beautiful, crazy adventure – riding his bike across the country to raise money and awareness for the charity.

Ross, Kathy and Jaaden Abraham.

On Wednesday, his 31-day journey that started in Perth, ended at Byron Bay – at the very place where Jaaden’s e-bike accident occurred.

Injuries linked to e-devices have skyrocketed by 112 per cent since 2021, with eight Queenslanders last year losing their lives.

This week, Burleigh MP Hermann Vorster told parliament that hundreds of Gold Coasters harboured deep concerns about e-bikes, with a community report presented to him stating that a toddler was hit from behind near Currumbin Rock late last month.

While the Crisafulli government has established a parliamentary inquiry into the issue, with the inquiry expected to run for almost a year, Mr Abraham said campaigning against e-bikes was not the path his family wanted to take.

“We don’t want anyone else to have to go through what we have gone through, and people have tried to talk us about campaigning for e-bike safety, but that’s just not our lane,” said Mr Abraham.

“No matter what laws there were, it wouldn’t have meant anything to Jaaden. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, despite us always telling him to.

“The crazy thing is that night I heard the chopper go over our house just after 9pm, I thought it must be the police chopper, I didn’t think much of it. Then I later found out that was Jaaden flying over our house on the way to GCUH.

“He wasn’t being silly, he was only 1km from home and he failed to take the roundabout, he came straight off and with no helmet there was no chance. He landed on the back of his head.

“There is definitely a space to discuss safety on these bikes, especially young kids on ones like motorbikes, but I think e-bikes are very much being discussed right now. And as a family we just wanted to focus on providing a little bit of light in a place that no one really thinks of.

“More than 120,000 Australians will go through the ICU this year, one on in two Australians will have an ICU experience in their lives – whether as patient, family or friend. Hospitals are there to look after the patient, and they do a brilliant job, and we hope we can help look after their loved ones who are going through some of the toughest times in their life.”

Jaaden Abraham with his nephews.

Mr Abraham said each care bag, which he described as a ‘hug in a bag’, includes water, a blanket, a toothbrush, toothpaste, pain relief medication, lip balm, wet wipes and snacks.

He said he hoped his ride would ultimately raise $258,000, enough for 4300 care bags – one for every kilometre of the off-road mountain bike journey, which began on April 21.

He said he was confident of reaching that goal as donations continued to flow through even after his arrival in Byron Bay on May 21.

He said while he had seen some amazing scenery, when he wasn’t concentrating on the brutal corrugated tracks of the outback, it was the people he met along the way that would remain in his memory.

“I’ve done a fair amount of cycling and trekking ventures to raise money for charity over the years, but I never thought I’d be doing one that’s so deeply personal,” he said.

“The connections I have made across this country have been incredible, we met one guy walking across the Outback pulling a cart, another lady cycling solo in the opposite direction, and in every caravan park people wanted to hear our story and would donate whatever they could. And there were so many who have experienced their own deep loss as well, it helps you feel less alone.

“When we set up this charity, both Kathy and I realised that we couldn’t change what had happened to Jaaden, we have to make meaning out of it and we have to do something with all of this pain. The charity has given us purpose again.”

Jaaden’s mum Kathy Abraham and his girlfriend Isabella Elordi delivering care bags at Gold Coast University Hospital provided by the Beautiful Crazy charity set up in his honour.

Mr Abraham said the simplicity of life during his cross-country journey – ride a bike, raise money – was a reprieve after the hardest year of his life.

He said there were layers to grief after any loss, but especially the loss of a child.

Even as a pastor, he said it was not always easy to accept death, but his experience in the ICU had offered moments of light in the darkest time.

“Each of those four days in the ICU was like a lifetime. While we were surrounded by friends and family, it’s still such a lonely experience,” he said.

“Kathy, Jaaden’s sister Tara and I were alone in that intensity of emotion, you’re on the rollercoaster of hope, fear, denial … you have doctors wanting to talk to you, nurses coming in for checks, and all the while you’re with your boy, just doing whatever you can that might help or make some difference.

“After four days of trying not to lose hope, they sat us down and said the latest scan showed we were at the end of the road. We knew that Jaaden wanted to be an organ donor, but we never knew what that meant.

“Suddenly we had to make that decision because while he didn’t have a scratch on him other than the head injury, and that made him an excellent candidate for donation, he was also unstable and if we left it too long we might lose the opportunity.

“But it still wasn’t easy. You don’t realise just what organ donation means until you are suddenly faced with that decision. They were the most intense and intimate conversations I have ever had, and I will take them to my grave.

“Ultimately, we wanted to honour Jaaden’s choice, and he gave life to at least six other people, which is incredible.

“It’s just hard to wrap your head around that while we were praying for a miracle for Jaaden, so were these other six families – but we were the ones who had to let go.

“That’s when faith does help. I’ve always believed that God will never waste hurt, that there will be purpose and hope in that. And that’s what we eventually found.”

Ross Abraham during his bike across Australia to raise funds for the Beautiful Crazy charity.

As to the name of the charity, Beautiful Crazy, that’s down to Jaaden himself.

Mr Abraham said the last meal he and Kathy had with their son – the meal whose dishes were still in the dishwasher, the visit where they brought that bag of chips to put in the pantry – was a revelation into their son’s soul.

“Jaaden had been seeing a therapist and he said to us that night, ‘I’ve realised I’m a little bit crazy’, and we all laughed. Because he was never less than 100 per cent at anything, and while he was amazing, he was not necessarily an angel,” said Mr Abraham.

“And then he said, ‘but I’m a beautiful crazy’. And after dinner we had a big hug and then we headed home from his Byron Bay tiny house. We were just so happy to know that he finally saw himself as we had always seen him – as a beautiful, wild soul. That conversation has sustained us.

“Jaaden packed more into his 31 years than most do in their entire lives. He travelled the world a few times, he loved boxing, he loved adventure, he had the best laugh and was just full of energy.

“The highlight of every Christmas was to see him playing in the pool with his nephews, our grandkids … it was an empty Christmas just gone.

“He kept us awake many a night, but he was a genuine, caring soul and it helps us to know that there are six people in Australia now with a bit of that beautiful crazy. And, hopefully, thousands receiving their Beautiful Crazy care packages.”