7:00am Thursday 17th April 2008
By Louise Dunderdale
A WIMBORNE man who was shot in the head while in New Zealand is making good progress.
Matthew Purchase, 22, was on a gap year after graduating with an agriculture degree and had been rabbit hunting with a group of people when the incident happened in December.
Speaking for the first time after the accident, Mr Purchase told BBC News: "I was told I might not survive so I was quite lucky in that respect because it was definitely stacked against me.
"I was told I might not see or hear again so it's definitely a good thing that I can."
He paid tribute to his parents Ian and Helen for their support, and said his first memory after the surgery was of saying "hello" to his mother.
There are still fragments of the bullet in his head, he is partially sighted in one eye and has lost the vision in the other, and can only stand and sit with assistance.
Mr Purchase was treated at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand, and underwent brain surgery.
He was flown home by air ambulance in February to Poole Hospital and is working with therapists to re-learn how to use the left side of his body.
Speaking to the Echo from the family farm just outside Wimborne, father Ian Purchase said his son was making good progress but there was still a long way to go.
"He has defied everybody's expectations," he said.
A 48-year-old man is due to appear in court in New Zealand on April 23 on charges of careless use of a firearm, causing injury.
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