The university student was walking home in the early hours of August 8 after a night out, when he took a shortcut and tried to jump a fence in Shellharbour.

But he slipped and a spike drove through his shoe before impaling his calf, leaving him hanging.

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"It's one of the most painful experiences I've ever had - and I've broken bones before," TJ said.

TJ tried to pull himself from the spike but was unable to, so eventually he began yelling for help.

That's when two nearby residents, Gary Dominish and Jim Bell, as well as his Sydney Swans player son James, rushed to his aid.

Gary said he'd been watching the Commonwealth Games and had dozed off on the couch when he awoke to some commotion.

He ran upstairs to check on his kids before realising it was coming from outside.

That was when he ran outside and saw "a bloke hanging from the fence like a bat".

Together he and James supported TJ's weight, while Jim stayed on the phone to the emergency operator until the paramedics arrived.

"It was a pretty gruesome way to spend his morning," Jim said.

TJ spent a few days in hospital (including time in isolation without visitors because of a false positive COVID result), had surgery and ended up with about 22 stitches to close the large gash stretching down his lower leg.

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He also suffered bruising to his foot and another cut to his thigh during the August 8 incident, although it paled in significance to the other injury.

TJ said he also had some nerve damage but it was unsure yet if it was permanent.

But he has no infection, so TJ is hopeful that his upcoming trip to Japan - he's moving there on exchange for 10 to 12 months - will not be derailed.

TJ regretted what happened because he didn't want to make life harder for others, and was full of gratitude for those who helped him.

He thanked the paramedics, a nurse named Eliza on the hospital's A4 ward, and of course, the men who ran to his aid in the small hours of the morning.

He offered to buy his rescuers beer to show his appreciation, but they graciously declined.

"I was just happy to see he was OK," Gary said.

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