Cape Town - In a heartfelt letter to the NSRI, a Dutch tourist who injured his back during a jump into a river has thanked his rescuers.
Dennis Van Duijvenbode, an orthopaedic surgeon from Amsterdam, injured his spine on the Drupkelders hiking trail near Rheenendal, near Knysna, on November 10.
NSRI volunteers carried the 31-year-old for more than 1km to safety in slippery and difficult conditions.
On November 18, shortly after being discharged, Van Duijvenbode wrote a letter to Jerome Simonis, the commander of Knysna’s NSRI station, thanking the organisation, the police and paramedics who had been instrumental in his rescue.
Van Duijvenbode speaks about how he was kloofing, climbing up waterfalls, then injured his spine while jumping into a rock pool.
He lay on his back in the pool before his girlfriend and their guide dragged him out of the water. He said the guide raced down the ravine “in world record time” to alert the NSRI, EMS and the police.
Their job was to stabilise Van Duijvenbode, load him on to a stretcher and carry him more than 1km downstream - a task involving careful navigation of waterfalls of about one to 4m in height.
“From my stretcher I could see you (NSRI volunteers) sweating from the extreme work you were performing.
“Moreover I could see you guys slip and fall due to the terrain, but you always made sure I did not. You really put other people’s lives and welfare before that of your own,” Van Duijvenbode wrote.
“I want to thank all who were involved in the rescue operation for all you did to get me out of the canyon. I also want to tell you how much I appreciated your visits in the hospital.
“Of course I’m also very thankful to the guide, the police, the ambulance and the nurses and doctors of the hospital.”
Van Duijvenbode said despite his injuries he was glad he had visited South Africa, and would now associate the country with Nelson Mandela, good food, the Big Five and the most sincerely caring people of the world.
NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said they were grateful for the letter.
“We seldom get thanks, but we don’t do what we do to get thanks. We help people who are in need of assistance and in this case nothing changed,” Lambinon said.
Cape Times