Months after losing his leg in truck wreck, Indiana man takes next steps in recovery
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (CBS) – The story of an Indiana man who survived for six days in the cold, trapped in his truck underneath the interstate near Portage, captivated the nation.
CBS spoke exclusively with the man and got a look at his road to recovery in South Bend.
For Matt Reum, shaking crushed pepper into stew is as spicy as life gets these days, especially after the year he's had. He was rescued after his truck swerved off the highway, rolled across a creek, and crash-landed underneath a bridge near Portage, Indiana, just before Christmas last year.
"I woke up the next morning, realized that it was not a dream," he said, recalling the experience.
Reum was trapped for six days. The truck's steering wheel had been pushed in and down, pinning his leg. He said he screamed for help and eventually waited to die.
"After six days of being down there, you know, it's very easy to lose hope that those sirens are ever gonna come for you," he said.
But they did. First responders told CBS 2 they'd never seen anything like it.
"It's nothing short of a miracle that he's still alive," said Jordan Bucy, a Portage firefighter/paramedic, in December of 2023.
Doctors treated Reum for cuts, bruises, and a broken hand. Unfortunately, they couldn't save his left leg.
"I got handed a 50-pound bag of lemons, and I'm just trying to make the best of it," Reum said.
Despite losing his leg, he was able to complete a 5k with the use of crutches.
He's been focused on healing and strengthening his body since the accident about five months ago. Across town, his next milestone was being made: a custom prosthetic leg.
"I will be able to carry groceries in without having to go up to my apartment and grab my little wagon," he said.
The 27-year-old allowed CBS 2's cameras to capture him taking his very first steps without his crutches. Prosthetist Norbert Fliess coached him through it. Reum will need hours of therapy to get him up to speed.
"I feel optimistic about kind of what the future holds, what is going to be happening moving forward," he said.
That includes writing a book, doing motivational speaking, and perfecting his recipes. He also recently graduated from Ivy Tech College. These are all things he thought, at one point, might never happen.