The Ghost Inside have been through hell over the past few months.
Despite luckily surviving a head-on tour bus crash with a semi-trailer in November that claimed the lives of both drivers, members of the band have spent the ensuing weeks in hospital recovering from a variety of serious injuries.
The worst of those – at least from what we’ve been told – was suffered by drummer Andrew Tkaczyk, who woke up from a 10-day coma to find his leg had been amputated.
It was a severe blow for someone who uses both legs for a living, but the beatman has remained in good spirits, vowing that he will not only get back on his feet, but also behind the kit, once again.
“One way or another, I’m gonna figure it out. I have a long road of healing and recovery, but one way or another, I gotta get back to it because I don’t know anything else,” he told Local Spins.
And while it won’t be easy, Dr. Stephen Bloom, medical director of trauma at Tkaczyk’s recovery center, has insisted that it is possible: “It’s going to involve custom-made prosthetics for his right leg that will have to be adapted for his kick pedal…” he said. “There’s wonderful drummers with disabilities out there who have adapted to this.”
And Tkaczyk is already making progress. After five weeks of undergoing treatment at a rehab hospital in Michigan, he’s now able to stand and pivot.
“When I first got here I could barely move my hand and my leg was in worse shape and I was just laying here and couldn’t do much,” he said.
Aside from losing his leg, Tkaczyk also suffered multiple fractures and torn ligaments as a result of the November bus crash and his right arm remains in a sling.
Watch a video of the drummer “rocking his rehabilitation” at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, below.
All five members of The Ghost Inside and members of their crew were injured in the accident, and guitarist Zach Johnson recently confirmed that a couple of his toes also had to be amputated.
In December, The Ghost Inside’s record label, Epitaph, announced plans to donate all profits from the band’s album sales to help pay their medical bills. Prior to that, Bring Me The Horizon also donated $10,000 to support the band’s recovery.
Watch: The Ghost Inside Drummer Andrew Tkaczyk Rocks his Rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed
