After being involved in a horrific motorcycle accident, Michael McGettigan is lucky to be alive after suffering from extensive internal injuries, a collapsed lung, and a fractured back.

But with no health insurance, plus the cost of medication and a nurse coming to his home a few times a week, his expenses are between $3,000 to $4,000, plus the estimated $1.3 million he owes the hospital, according to his stepfather Mike Zizzo, one of the few options to help McGettigan to pay for his mounting medical costs is to have a fundraiser at Maggie O’Neill’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Drexel Hill.

McGettigan’s ordeal started on June 28 when he was riding his Harley Davison motorcycle on Interstate 95 and when he was getting off an exit for Ridley Park he hit a bump, said Zizzo, who added that McGettigan hit the guardrail, and flew about 30 yards but was very fortunate enough to land on the grass.

“If he would have hit a tree or landed on concrete, it would have been all over. His helmet that he was wearing was broken in half. It’s a fluke. It’s a miracle (that he survived),” Zizzo said about his stepson’s accident, adding that while McGettigan had a head injury, he did not suffer any brain damage.

Zizzo, 60, said that some of McGettigan’s injuries involve major organ damage, including liver, spleen, and one of his kidneys, plus a collapsed lung. His injuries were so broad, including the fractured back that doctors at Crozer-Chester Medical Center put the 29-year-old Drexel Hill resident in an induced coma for a month.

While McGettigan rests a lot at his home and can now finally walk for short periods of time, he was able to speak to Delaware County Magazine over the phone about the difficulties of waking up from his coma.

“I was really frustrated because I couldn’t talk or I couldn’t write for awhile. I had a breathing tube coming to my throat and I couldn’t talk anymore for quite awhile. I had no strength in my hand to write or even hold a pen in my good hand, my right hand,” he recalled. “It was frustrating because it’s helpless that no one can understand what you want or what you need at that time.”

However, he is still very lucky to be alive. His doctors told him that because he is a former kick boxer and was in good shape before the accident, it saved his life.

But his days of riding hogs are over, as McGettigan said he was later told that 13 other motorcycle riders came into the hospital while he was there, where three died and a couple had their limbs amputated. Plus, his own accident was enough to make him stop riding his Harley, which was totaled anyway.

While his life in construction work is over due to his injuries, McGettigan plans to go back to school and help children from troubled homes.

But with increasing medical costs and the doctors saying it might be up to six months to a year before he can go to work, that might be a problem, which is why Maggie O’Neill’s Irish Pub & Restaurant will be holding a fundraiser for him. This came about after some of his friends who work there heard about McGettigan’s accident and wanted to do something for him, Zizzo said.

“Anything we can do to help (McGettigan),” said Mike O’Kane, owner of Maggie O’Neill’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, who is used to doing fundraisers for good causes.

The fundraiser for McGettigan will be at Maggie O’Neill’s Irish Pub & Restaurant at 1062 Pontiac Rd., in Drexel Hill, on Saturday, Sept. 25 between 5 and 9 p.m. With a $30 donation at the door, beef and beer will be provided. You can call 610-449-9889 for more information. Gambol’s Café is also selling tickets as well. Call 610-259-2702 for information.

Zizzo also said that if people are not able to attend the fundraiser but still want to donate money can make checks out to Michael McGettigan and can send them to 4004 Plumstead Ave., Drexel Hill, Pa., 19026. The donations will go towards McGettigan’s medical care and expenses, Zizzo said.