By Jess Oosthuizen
South Peninsula surfers and divers are rallying to help raise more than R160 000 to pay the medical and rescue bills of Craig Bovim, who was attacked by a Great White shark off Scarborough on Christmas Eve.
Bovim, 35, narrowly escaped death, but the real pain came when the bills began mounting up.
The hospital bills he has received so far come to R150 000 and now he has been presented with a bill of R10 000 for the helicopter that carried him from the beach.
'My ulna artery was flapping about like an unattended hosepipe' By the time Bovim made it to the safety of the beach, he had lost two litres of blood and was in a serious condition.
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A Red Cross emergency helicopter flew him to Vincent Pallotti Hospital, where he spent the next 11 days being treated by doctors Bovim calls the "surgical dream team".
Bovim, who owns a pipeline company, describes himself as a "very hands-on kind of guy" - and when the shark attacked, he ended up with both hands down the creature's throat. As a result, both his arms are "out of action" for at least nine months.
The damage was extensive - as he pulled his right arm from the shark's jaws he thought it had been amputated.
"My ulna artery was flapping about like an unattended hosepipe spraying blood all over the place," Bovim said.
'We try to ensure that the costs are recovered from the patient's insurance or medical aid' He regards the attack as a "life-changing" event and, although he faces months of recovery, he says with certainty that "as soon as my stitches are out and dried I'm going surfing again".
But first there are the huge bills to pay. He is enormously grateful to the helicopter crew and says that without them he would not be alive today - but he doesn't understand why he is being billed for the cost.
A fellow diver and close friend, Russell Weston, expressed disbelief and anger at the bill on Wednesday.
"Helicopters that are sent out to search for sharks are sponsored, but when someone is attacked by a shark, the victim is billed," he said.
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