Catfish star Nev Schulman breaks his neck in accident

Catfish star Nev Schulman has broken his neck in a terrifying accident in which his motorcycle collided with a truck.

The 39-year-old revealed that the crash took place on Monday when he was traveling to pick up his son Cy, two, from school.

He was rushed to the ICU after snapping two nerves that control his muscles – an injury that in some cases leaves the patient permanently unable to walk.

However Schulman assured his fans that he is ‘not paralyzed’ and is ‘projected to make a full recovery,’ in an Instagram post on Saturday.

Schulman posted several videos of himself wearing a neck brace in the hospital, including one of him rising slowly from his bed with the help of two staffers.

The accident occurred on Monday, and in the six days since, he has regained the ability to walk down the hospital hallway by himself.

His album contained a grisly close-up of the gash along the back of his neck, as well as X-rays indicating the extent of first the internal damage and then his recovery.

Schulman also included heartwarming pictures and video of his family rallying around him and comforting him in the hospital.

In one photo, his wife Laura Perlongo could be seen cuddling up next to him in his bed, the two of them pulling brave smiles for the camera.

A brief clip showed their three children Cleo, seven, Beau, five, and Cy, two, paying him a visit and wrapping him in a group hug.

‘I went fishing with my family on Sunday. It was incredible, my son’s idea. One of those days that just work,’ he recalled. ‘It was magical. A day full of love and wonder in the way only calm days in nature with family can be.’

He added: ‘Monday was not a day like that. Monday was a day where I learned what “before the accident” really means. And Monday gave weight to just how lucky I was to have Sunday. It’s true what they say – life can change in an instant.’

Schulman wrote: ‘I never made it to pick up my son from school on the bike. In fact in some ways, I’m glad I didn’t. I was alone on impact. Me and the truck. And then I guess the pavement. I was alone and unconscious. And then conscious. Maybe I was fine (I wasn’t). Maybe I can still do my long run on Thursday (I couldn’t).’

He revealed: ‘I broke my neck. C5 and C6 to be exact. Stable fractures. I’m not paralyzed. My hands were a question mark there for a minute but the human body is incredible and so are HUMANS.’

Praising the ‘incredible knowledge and care’ he received from the medical profession, he reflected: ‘It’s hard to feel sorry for myself when I hear from the doctors about how many people with similar injuries will never walk again.’

He noted that he was ‘lucky to be here, alive, standing and hugging my family, projected to make a full recovery.

‘And I’m really starting to understand the meaning of gratitude. For the big and little things before the accident, and now everything moving forward.’

He added: ‘We hadn’t planned on fishing last Sunday and my instinct was to say no to scramble-planning a day trip, but looking back a week later, I’m so glad I said yes.’ 

Schulman became a star in the 2010 documentary Catfish, in which he has an online romance with a woman who turns not not to be who she says she is.

The movie popularized the term ‘catfishing,’ which is often used to refer to people lying about their appearance or identity while online dating. 

Catfish, which was co-directed by Schulman’s older brother, became a pop culture phenomenon and spawned a reality show of the same name.

Schulman co-hosts Catfish: The TV Show on MTV, in which each episode follows the trajectory of a different online romance.