Arizona Graduate on Dream Year-Long Trip to Australia Suffers Life-Changing Injuries in Beach Accident

An American college graduate faces a long road to recovery after getting serious injuries in a terrible accident just days after moving to Sydney, Australia.

On Saturday, Sept. 6, Max Allen, 23, who studied at the University of Arizona, went to Balmoral Beach in downtown Sydney with friends. He had just moved to Australia on a year-long work visa.

While wading through waist-deep water, he dove forward and hit a hidden sandbar, fracturing his C5 vertebra, his sister Olivia explained on a GoFundMe page set up to help the family with his medical treatment.

Max had a six-hour surgery where doctors removed the broken vertebra, performed a bone graft, and secured his neck with plates and screws.

“Max is getting a little stronger each day as he goes through his recovery,” Olivia told PEOPLE.

“He doesn’t remember much from the accident or the two days after, but he remembers spending an amazing 36 hours with his friends before it happened and has felt a lot of support from the community,” she added.

Olivia wrote on the GoFundMe page that Max got to surgery quickly thanks to an off-duty lifeguard, emergency responders nearby, and the trauma team at Royal North Shore Hospital.

“After surgery, Max was in the ICU, sedated and on a breathing tube since the C5 nerves control breathing. In the days that followed, his diaphragm started working again, and the tube was removed,” she said. Now Max is “awake, alert, and starting the long road to recovery.”

Max currently has limited movement in his limbs, and the future is uncertain, Olivia added.

“But if you know Max, you know his strength, determination, and big heart. Our family motto is: ‘Little victories lead to big victories.’ Max is working toward those victories every day,” she said.

Max’s dad, James, is in Sydney with him, and his mom has also flown there. The family has been updating his recovery through a CaringBridge profile.

Olivia explained that Max left the U.S. on Sept. 3. “He planned to spend the first few weeks catching up with friends and learning the area.”

“Max was starting a new chapter. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in Urban Development and Sustainability, he wanted to travel for a year,” she wrote.

“At university, he had several Australian roommates who became close friends, so he started his journey in Australia. He got a one-year work visa and planned to work at a bakery for half the year, then spend the rest of the year on a farm or ranch,” she added.

On Wednesday, Sept. 17, Olivia posted that Max had been doing physical therapy and trauma occupational therapy, showing “his determination to get stronger each day.” He also had visits from friends and could enjoy a smoothie after his feeding tube was removed, allowing him to eat and drink normally again.

The family is raising money for medical bills, living expenses, rehab, physical therapy, equipment, and possible medical transport back to the U.S.

“This accident has left us with a mountain of unexpected challenges,” Olivia wrote on GoFundMe, thanking Max’s friends for being “guardian angels during the scariest moments of our lives.”

“No donation is too small, and every share or message of support helps. Max’s journey is just beginning, and with your love and generosity, brighter days are ahead,” she said.

The GoFundMe page had raised almost $69,000 as of Thursday, Sept. 18.