Dyrban - Caught up in the hustle and bustle of Joburg, Dominique Mauvis, 31, looked forward to a sun and surf break.
Mauvis loves the sea. He lived in uMhlanga during his teenage years and went to Thomas More College in Kloof. His father, Robert, is a well-known Durban restaurateur and horseracing personality.
Mauvis works in commercial property sales for a Johannesburg company. Earlier this month, he and a few friends went on a surfing holiday to Bali in Indonesia. They hired a boat and on the remote Sambawan Island, Mauvis thought he had found paradise.
It turned into a living hell when, while surfing, what looked like a young swordfish leapt out of the water and speared him in the neck.
“There was a slight offshore breeze and the wave swells, of about 1m, were right-handers that peeled all the way to the beach.
“In the past, many professional surfers have used this location to shoot surfing videos,” he said.
“I had just finished riding a wave all the way to shore and as I turned to paddle back, the fish hit me.”
At first he thought someone had run their board into him.
“The incident is a bit hazy, but it seemed like the nose of the fish, which looked like a pointy spine, dug deep into my neck.
“To be hit by the fish in the first place was one thing; to get hit in the neck, so close to a main artery, was unbelievable.”
Mauvis struggled with the pain and blood that was spurting from his neck. Then a frightening reality hit him. He was in the middle of nowhere on a boat.
“Where do I go?
“What do I do?
“Is there a hospital close by?
“Will a doctor be available?”
“Rasta”, a crew member, on their boat who spoke English, took the surfer ashore in a dinghy.
They were lucky because as they approached the beach a taxi was dropping off passengers and they were able to catch a ride to the nearest hospital. It took about 20 minutes to get there.
“A nurse, who assisted me, said in broken English that there was no doctor present, but he would stitch my wound.”
Mauvis was nervous but allowed the medic to administer an anaesthetic injection and he began to treat his injury.
But soon his chest began to close up and lumps developed on his chest. He was having an allergic reaction to the medication.
“I told the nurse I needed a doctor urgently.”
It took about 40 minutes for the nurse to track one down. The doctor was at another health-care facility. It was a 40-minute drive there.
“Rasta spoke to the nurse about borrowing his scooter for the trip. The nurse agreed and the two set off, Mauvis riding pillion. Halfway there the scooter ran out of petrol.
“Fortunately, it wasn”t too long before we found vendors selling petrol in vodka bottles on the roadside.”
The two continued their trip and made it to the hospital.
A doctor examined Mauvis, gave him some medication and arranged for him to be taken to a “big” hospital by ambulance.
This was not the comfy German types we see on our roads, but a rickety, blood-splattered vehicle that had carried too many sick and injured and was badly in need of mechanical attention itself.
It took them two hours to get to the next facility. Yet further drama awaited Mauvis.
“I was so swollen from the anaesthetic reaction that the medics couldn”t find a vein to attach a drip. I couldn”t believe this was happening to me.
“Out of desperation and fear, I asked the medics to please call my mom in South Africa and ask her if I was allergic to any other medicine.”
After five attempts, the medics were able to connect him to a drip in a vein in his hand.
His condition improved after four hours and he was discharged.
There are a few lessons that Mauvis learnt. First, take a well stocked medical kit wherever you travel. Have someone who can speak the local language. And, as much as health-care facilities in South Africa may appear bad, they”re a lot better than in many other parts of the world.
Sunday Tribune