Motorcycle crash survivor fights through weeks of surgeries

MILLERTON — Nearly three weeks after a motorcycle crash cost him his left leg, Paris Perkins remains at Westchester Medical Center, facing more surgery and a long rehabilitation. But his father says the 22-year-old Millerton resident is already talking about running again.

Perkins was injured Sept. 10 in a collision with a delivery truck at Route 44 and Kennels Road in the Town of Washington. The collision threw Perkins into a roadside utility pole. His left leg was amputated below the knee, and he suffered fractures to his right leg and pelvis.

Despite the injuries, Perkins has remained in good spirits and even cracks jokes with the doctors and nurses that care for him, his father, Paul, said.

“Later on, he says ‘I was actually interested in losing some weight but this isn’t quite what I had in mind,’” Paul said as an example of Paris’ positive attitude following the crash.

Paris has undergone 10 surgeries at Westchester Medical Center to treat injuries to his right leg and other parts of his body, in addition to the loss of his left leg. Paul said the doctors discovered a fracture between two vertebrae in Paris’ back, restricting him to lying on his back while much of his body is wrapped in bandages and braces to immobilize him between surgeries and while bones set and heal.

Paris was expected to have at least one more surgery, bringing the total number of surgeries following the accident to 11 so far.

Despite the severity and extent of the injuries, Paul said his son’s outlook is positive and the family is confident that Paris will make a full recovery. Paul credits Paris’s physical conditioning for his resilience.

“He was in terrific shape — very strong muscles, very strong endurance, very strong heart,” Paul said.

The Perkins family takes physical fitness seriously. Paul, at the age of 76, is a powerlifting champion and espouses the benefits of regular exercise and clean dieting. He said Paris decided to follow suit, and has been an avid athlete since childhood.

As a high school student at Webutuck, Paris competed with the Track & Field team running in the 800 meter dash, the 1-mile dash and the 2-mile dash. Paul said his son won or came in second place in almost every race.

Another factor in Paris’s positive mental attitude was a recent visit from the husband of one of the Westchester nurses — a U.S. Marine veteran who also lost his leg in a motorcycle accident named Matt Brendan. Brendan visited Paris in the hospital to demonstrate how his prosthetic leg didn’t hold him back from staying physically active.

“Matt Brendan comes in and he starts dancing, he starts kickboxing,” Paul said. “He showed Paris pictures of him snorkeling and SCUBA diving, rock climbing — basically giving him the A1 pep talk about ‘you can do whatever you want.’ That just meant the world to him and to us, because we saw how these things can be overcome.”

The Perkins family is determined to get Paris walking and running again, with Paul framing it as a foregone decision that will now require hard work and determination. “He wants to walk — not only walk, he wants to run again,” Paul said. The family is hoping that Paris will qualify for an athletic prosthetic under their insurance plan so he can still follow his passion for running.

Paris has lived in Millerton since he was about 8 years old, when his parents moved their family from Barra de Lagoa in Brazil in 2012. He began attending classes at Webutuck, where he remained a student until graduation from Webutuck High School in 2022.

Paul said the community response to Paris’ accident has been astounding. Paris’ sister, Tiffany, started a GoFundMe campaign that has raised nearly $60,000 in donations in just under three weeks.

The GoFundMe campaign remains open and accepting donations. The campaign has a total goal of $120,000 intended to assist with covering the cost of surgeries, hospital stay, rehab and prosthetics.

Between the support from community members and Paris’ high spirits, Paul is confident in his son’s recovery. He spoke highly of his son last weekend as the family spent their fifteenth night at the hospital.

“He’s so polite and so kind and so loving,” Paul said. “He’s a special guy.”