A Good Samaritan who suffered catastrophic back injuries in a freak accident on a paradise island fears he may never walk again.
Roderic Munro has been left in “excruciating pain” and can no longer move the lower half of his body after he helped a pensioner push her broken-down car off a road in Hawaii.
He felt something “pop” in his lower back – but did not get help at the time as he thought the pain would disappear.
Six months on, doctors have now discovered that the 31-year-old from Fochabers – who is bedridden – has destroyed the lower discs in his back.
They have described his case as the “worst” they have ever seen.
Mr Munro’s devastated partner, Melissa Granger, said it was now a desperate race against time to raise the $20,000 – £12,700 – needed for an operation to try to prevent any further damage to his back.
She said: “As the pain has progressed, so has the nerve damage.
“He has no feeling in his toes now and may never walk again.
“The neurosurgeon says it’s the worst case he’s seen due to the discs being blown out on both sides and pressing on his nerve roots.
“The longer he waits to have surgery, the more nerve damage he will have. He could lose feeling and control of his legs completely.”
Mr Munro, who grew up in Fochabers, where his family still live, moved to Santa Barbara in California four years ago to work on an oil field.
He met American Miss Granger there and last year the couple decided to take the plunge and move to Hawaii.
Miss Granger said what should be the most exciting time of their lives had become a “living nightmare”.
“Having no insurance or social security number, and because Rod has been unable to work due to the oil crash and the debilitating pain, we cannot afford the $20,000 procedure to fix his back,” she said.
Mr Munro had offered to help the pensioner push her Dodge Charger off the road near the Kula Botanical Garden on the island of Maui, where the couple settled, after her battery died.
Miss Granger explained: “It was blocking a one-lane narrow dirt jungle road, so he pushed the car in neutral to move it downhill off to the side.
“He heard something pop in his back, and for the next two weeks he was laid up in a hotel unable to move.
“It’s gradually worsened to the point where he was crawling around.”
Last week, an emergency doctor wrote a referral for an MRI scan in Honolulu, which showed there had been a disc “explosion”.
The couple are now based in Molokai while they wait for help.
Miss Granger said: “The neurosurgeon was in utter disbelief he was able to move at all,” she said.
She said she fears the longer her partner waits for his operation, the more damage his condition will do to his body.
She added that his family in Moray, who he has been back home to visit every Christmas, were extremely worried about his future.
“At 31 years old we never expected or prepared for this,” she said.
“Even if we can raise the money for the surgery, he may never feel his toes again due to the rupture pressing the nerves to his legs.
“As his girlfriend, it’s been beyond hard to watch weakness and pain completely change a man who once stood so tall and strong.”
The couple have raised almost $2,000 already thanks to support from people on both sides of the world.
Mr Munro said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support from even people I’ve never met and it means a lot.
“When I get a donation from someone I’ve never met I feel so humble and thankful.
“I often do the same to other causes and charities, but it just feels different being on the other end.”
To help, visit the couple’s fundraising page at www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/g499/roderic-s-back-surgery-fund.