A Northern Irish man who was left with serious injuries in a one-punch attack in Australia on New Year’s Eve last has returned home.
23-year-old Michael Hyndman was left fighting for his life after a night out in Sydney with his fiancée Clar and brother Christopher when he was attacked.
He underwent emergency surgery the following morning on New Year’s Day and was placed in an induced coma by doctors.
The Belfast man has been undergoing treatment over the last few months, and a fundraising campaign saw £18, 932 raised to help him get home.
On April 13, doctors gave him the permission to return home to undergo further treatment.
He arrived back home on April 21.
Michael had initially moved to Sydney last September with his fiancée to begin a new job as a quantity surveyor.
Following his return, he took to his GoFundMe page to thank the public for their support.
He said: “It’s crazy to think just 105 days ago my horrible nightmare began. My future, which I thought I had mapped out before me, was hanging in the balance after just one punch left me fighting for my life.
“The people I love were left sitting by my bedside (and for many, left sitting back home in Ireland) waiting on me to wake up, hoping and praying that I actually would.
“Looking back, there is no doubt in my mind that my recovery has been phenomenal. And if I’m totally honest, I don’t think this would have been the case if it wasn’t for my friends, my family, colleagues and the many selfless people who don’t even really know me, yet donated to my cause.
"I go through the list of names nearly every day. I feel nothing but the upmost respect and heartfelt gratitude toward you.
"You supported us financially while I was initially fighting just to stay alive, throughout my life-changing surgeries and even through many weeks of tough rehabilitation."
Michael said he also wanted to take the opportunity to raise awareness about the consequences of throwing one punch.
He said: "It was just one punch that started this nightmare 105 days ago and almost cost me my life. It was just one punch that not only put an abrupt end to our new year celebrations but has completely overshadowed, what was to be ‘our new and exciting chapter’ in our life.
"Thankfully I am here to tell the tale and I hope that by sharing my story people will realise the dangers involved. I hope that I can prevent, even one person, from throwing that, life-altering/ in some cases fatal, punch in the future. Life is too precious."
