Last Saturday morning 10/10/2020 Myself Swambo, and and dear friends of us left Boane @ 05h30 in 1 vehicle for a quick GT hunt at Ponta Mucombe..
With "Padkos" enough to last Saturday we arrived at Mucombe 09h00 as we had a very nice slow drive through the Elephant park observing a lot of game...and the gale force Southern wind arrived with us...Looking at the swells and current we decided to take the day for a recce and drove to Ponta Abril and from there had a super nice Lunch at Bemugis at Santa Maria... Stuffed like good Boerewors we went back to Mucombe for a rest and rigging the rods for an early Sunday morning live bait slide from the Mucombe rock
Whilst rigging the Rods I suddenly totally went out of breath…First thought, especially swambo…Cardiac arrest…..with all the signs…Pain in the chest and left arm….and that dreadful shortness of breath
Decision time …Back through the Elephant park almost impossible at night as my vitals were fading fast but still conscious …our host mentioned that Inhaca Island diving facility is stocked with Oxygen as at that time I was seriously gasping for breath…
Diving Cylinder on standby we took on the 14 Km heavy sand road to Santa Maria with Bemugi on standby with his boat, after the most terrifying drive with me gasping arrived at Santa Maria and carried to the boat and arrived at Inhaca after a 45 minute sail in a serious rough Maputo Bay due to Southern pumping at 34 knots …where the Ambulance was waiting on the beach
The option to take me to Maputo over the bay was discarded due to very bad swells and tried to stabilize me at the Hospital with a serious shortage of Oxygen…Cortisone injection and trying to Nebulize me as the poor Doctor thought I am having an Asthma attack as at this stage I was really wheezing…
The longest night of my life with me clasping the Oxygen tube (The mask did not work for me) in my mouth ..and Swambo frantically trying to organise an Airlift…finding one and lifted us at O7h00 Sunday morning at $ 850 (ZAR 14000-00) for the 15 minute flight in a 4 seater Cesna in a 35 knots head wind to Maputo where another friend was waiting to take me to the “Institute de coracao†(Heart Hospital)
Arriving at the institute I was admitted to a sterile tent, again trying to nebulize with me fighting to breath…then after Swambo paid the admission fee 35 000 MZN (+/- R 8750-00) Covid test by means of the haemorrhoid swab through the nose started with ECG, heart sonar and CT scan and wait…
Young Cuban doctor in broken English came to me and stated that the problem was found …showed me pic of Scan on his phone of my lungs…Spontaneous Pneumothorax…Left lung totally collapsed trying to mimic a used teabag…..
Then it went quick…Into ICU on bed lifted in sitting position Doctor Estafanio Sozinho with his English as bad as my Portuguese attacked me with local anaesthesia under my left arm 2 ribs down with aluminium tube and sliding needle and popped the Thorax that felt as if hit by a AK 47 and released that seems like at least 2.5 bar air and immediately I could breath without Oxygen… 10 mm Tube inserted and drained under vacuum for 4 days in Hospital. Tube removed on Thursday with accompanying excruciation pain…and at total of +/- 100K later released on Friday
Not something I wish my worst enemy….Especially in this awkward situation
With "Padkos" enough to last Saturday we arrived at Mucombe 09h00 as we had a very nice slow drive through the Elephant park observing a lot of game...and the gale force Southern wind arrived with us...Looking at the swells and current we decided to take the day for a recce and drove to Ponta Abril and from there had a super nice Lunch at Bemugis at Santa Maria... Stuffed like good Boerewors we went back to Mucombe for a rest and rigging the rods for an early Sunday morning live bait slide from the Mucombe rock
Whilst rigging the Rods I suddenly totally went out of breath…First thought, especially swambo…Cardiac arrest…..with all the signs…Pain in the chest and left arm….and that dreadful shortness of breath
Decision time …Back through the Elephant park almost impossible at night as my vitals were fading fast but still conscious …our host mentioned that Inhaca Island diving facility is stocked with Oxygen as at that time I was seriously gasping for breath…
Diving Cylinder on standby we took on the 14 Km heavy sand road to Santa Maria with Bemugi on standby with his boat, after the most terrifying drive with me gasping arrived at Santa Maria and carried to the boat and arrived at Inhaca after a 45 minute sail in a serious rough Maputo Bay due to Southern pumping at 34 knots …where the Ambulance was waiting on the beach
The option to take me to Maputo over the bay was discarded due to very bad swells and tried to stabilize me at the Hospital with a serious shortage of Oxygen…Cortisone injection and trying to Nebulize me as the poor Doctor thought I am having an Asthma attack as at this stage I was really wheezing…
The longest night of my life with me clasping the Oxygen tube (The mask did not work for me) in my mouth ..and Swambo frantically trying to organise an Airlift…finding one and lifted us at O7h00 Sunday morning at $ 850 (ZAR 14000-00) for the 15 minute flight in a 4 seater Cesna in a 35 knots head wind to Maputo where another friend was waiting to take me to the “Institute de coracao†(Heart Hospital)
Arriving at the institute I was admitted to a sterile tent, again trying to nebulize with me fighting to breath…then after Swambo paid the admission fee 35 000 MZN (+/- R 8750-00) Covid test by means of the haemorrhoid swab through the nose started with ECG, heart sonar and CT scan and wait…
Young Cuban doctor in broken English came to me and stated that the problem was found …showed me pic of Scan on his phone of my lungs…Spontaneous Pneumothorax…Left lung totally collapsed trying to mimic a used teabag…..
Then it went quick…Into ICU on bed lifted in sitting position Doctor Estafanio Sozinho with his English as bad as my Portuguese attacked me with local anaesthesia under my left arm 2 ribs down with aluminium tube and sliding needle and popped the Thorax that felt as if hit by a AK 47 and released that seems like at least 2.5 bar air and immediately I could breath without Oxygen… 10 mm Tube inserted and drained under vacuum for 4 days in Hospital. Tube removed on Thursday with accompanying excruciation pain…and at total of +/- 100K later released on Friday
Not something I wish my worst enemy….Especially in this awkward situation
