'My husband almost died, but I didn't find out for 11 hours'

“She just said ‘I’m sorry, but he was in a major accident’,” the Melbourne mum said. "I just started crying."

When Alen didn’t come home in time to get ready for a planned dinner out, his wife Elma started to worry.

She’d picked up their two children from her parents’ place, and had just finished showering when she tried to give him a call to hurry him up.

However, Alen didn’t answer his phone, and a quick check on a tracking app showed his car was at a towing place.

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“I thought something wasn’t right,” Elma told Kidspot. “Why is his car there? Especially at that time.”

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Alen was on his way to work when he was involved in a very serious accident. Picture: GoFundMe

"I'm sorry, but he was in a major accident"

Elma called the local police station at Bacchus Marsh, where Alen’s car had been towed, to ask if there were any accidents or incidents that day.

It was only 10 minutes before she got a call back.

“She just said ‘I’m sorry, but he was in a major accident’,” Elma said.

“I just started crying, and my 10-year-old daughter was crying as well.

“Luckily my brother lives around the corner, because I was in such a state. The policewoman told me Alen was at the Alfred, so I just pretty much tried to get straight into the hospital.”

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Alen spent three days in an induced coma after his accident. Picture: Supplied

"He could have died, and I wouldn't have known"

Alen had been involved in a major car accident near Daylesford, about 90km northwest of Melbourne and 125km northwest of the family’s home near Frankston.

Although the accident was in the morning while Alen was heading to a worksite, Elma and her kids wouldn’t find out for at least 11 hours.

“It’s terrifying to think of really,” Elma said. “When the accident happened they had to airlift him to hospital, so he just would have been there with the truck driver.

“He could have died, and I wouldn’t have known.”

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Alen was left with severe lacerations, several broken legs, a broken femur, and severe head and brain injuries that meant he was in an induced coma when Elma first saw him.

“It happened around eight o’clock, so he didn’t even make it to work,” Elma said.

“The police said the way he reacted and swayed out of the way meant the truck hit the passenger side, and that pretty much saved his life.

“I’ve looked at the photos, and I still don’t know how the hell he survived it.

“It was just a normal day, and our lives have completely flipped upside down.”

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The remnants of Alen's car after his accident. Picture: Supplied

"They haven't been able to start physio yet"

Alen woke from his coma a few days after the accident, but still faces a long road to recovery.

“They’re still trying to get his pain management under control, and they haven’t been able to start the physio part yet,” Elma said.

“He’s angry, he’s confused, and it just keeps dragging on.”

Elma said her children were struggling with not having their dad in the house.

“It’s affecting my daughter,” she said. “She asks when dad’s coming home, but she tends to bottle things up, so she doesn’t really talk to me about how she’s feeling.

“I took them both to see their dad for the first time last week, so now my three-year-old son understands that dad is sick and in hospital.”

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Elma's family has raised almost $50,000 to help support her and her children while Alen recovers. Picture: Supplied

"People have been so generous"

Thankfully, Elma’s family has been there to support her and her two children while she works extra hours to try to keep up with ongoing family expenses.

Her family also started a GoFundMe for Alen, which has raised almost $50,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I was hesitant because I don’t like asking for help, but my sister-in-law said you need help here, and if people are offering to help you, just take it,” Elma said.

“People have been so generous. I asked my sister-in-law ‘who are these people?’, and she just said it was people from the community who genuinely care.”

Originally published as 'My husband almost died, but I didn't find out for 11 hours'