A single moment can change the course of one’s life forever.

It is a haunting thought. But for one young Perth man, it’s become his reality.

Last Sunday Matt Don was clearing trees on his block of land in the Perth Hills — work he’s done countless times before — when a log got stuck on the ground and swung back.

Crying out as he caught it, the 32-year-old fell backwards, snapping his neck the second he hit the ground.

Now, the father of two is facing life as a quadriplegic, trapped in a body he can no longer move from the neck down.

“He knew straight away. He told me straight away, that it’s done, he’s not going to walk again,” Mr Don’s wife, Kirsty Mulholland, said.

Camera Icon Matthew Don with his family at the beach. Credit: Facebook

Her father-in-law, Mr Don’s dad, was there when the freak accident happened.

“They just couldn’t understand how it had happened because they’re both really safe, cautious people,” Ms Mulholland told 7NEWS Perth.

Currently, Mr Don is in the intensive care unit at Royal Perth Hospital.

The economist suffered a shattered C4 vertebrae and a severely damaged spinal cord — “a catastrophic injury with heartbreaking impact”, Ms Mulholland said.

It is hoped when he is well enough that he will be moved to the hospital’s spinal ward.

“Matt is a loving husband, a fun and devoted father ... and lives an extremely active lifestyle,” Ms Mulholland said.

“Despite what he is battling himself, nothing concerns him more than his family’s wellbeing and so he wanted this story to be told.”

Camera Icon Matthew Don in ICU at Royal Perth Hospital. Credit: Royal Perth Hospital

Mr Don and Ms Mulholland bought the block of land where the accident unfolded only last month.

The plan was to build their forever home for their two children Luna and Piper, where they would watch their two little girls grow up.

That dream is now on hold.

Ms Mulholland, who is a nurse, knows the challenges ahead.

From sitting up, to eating properly, to getting her husband into a wheelchair, the young family’s future will be far from easy.

“(The) only thing keeping me standing (is) all the love,” Ms Mulholland said.

Mr Don’s family and friends have created a GoFundMe page in an effort to finance his medical costs and future medical care and services, support services and equipment, loss of income and house modifications. So far more than 400 people have donated more than $90,500.