schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Hi Guys, yes as Jacque told the story that’s exactly like it happened. It was about 8 pm and we were on the final stretch of road the R349 after 1260 km from home and 27 km before the bash on a dirt road. Dave and Johan were ahead and I kept a gap in order for the dust to settle a bit. We were 15 km from the tar road by now and I was doing only about 80 kmh. I saw this buck running in the same direction than what I was moving on the left side against the fence. It looked frightened and I think it was scared by the first two bikes, it then made a u turn and ran back to the left of me until it got behind my light in the dark area. The next moment I felt this horrendous pain and an impact to my left leg and as I looked down I saw this buck. It was as if it hit a brick wall as after hitting my leg below the knee I saw his body folding up double and I think his body could have hit the side cover as well as it is broken now. The metal plate next to my boot was bent as well from the impact. My leg immediately felt paralyzed and I could not put the bike in neutral although my boot was still on the foot peg. I then brought the bike slowly to a standstill and pulled in the clutch and then flick the kill switch. I could not get off the bike as my luggage was stacked high behind me. As I am planning a solo round the world bike trip from 25/05/2015 16 months from now I took all my gear along for my world tour as a practice run. Anyway I was sitting there with my right leg holding the bike up and it felt like half an hour. Jacque asked me what happened and I told him I was hit by a buck. Johan in the meantime turned back and he and Jacque picked me up high enough in order for my leg not to touch the saddle and laid me down next to the road. I told them to phone an ambulance as I know that my leg was fractured. Although I had a shirt, a chess protector, my bike jacket and a rain suite jacket I was still shaking from the cold and pain. After two hour the ambulance did not arrive yet and we phoned them to give them the GPS coordinates. It felt like eternity before they arrived. It was a very painful experience to be loaded on to the stretcher and the shaking from there over the 15km dirt road did not help either. Arriving at the St. Dominic hospital in East London just before 12 O clock the drama did not stop. I gave them my Discovery medical aid card and that alone was not good enough as they refuse to treat me or give me any pain killer as they first need a hard copy of my wife’s ID as she is the main member. My wife was back at home a 1000 km away. They requested that she now must drive to a Life hospital (or shall I say a death hospital) at 12 at night to have a copy made of her ID. Now I do not know of any Life hospital in the south of JHB and offered that my wife faxes a copy through but no they do not have a fax machine. By now they threaten to send me to a government hospital. My wife did not know how to scan the ID and then email it to the hospital on my computer system at home. I then phoned her to tell her to phone my son in order for him to explain to her on how to do it. In the mean time I ask the clerk what about the hypocritical oath. A nurse told me that that does not exist anymore. At 1 am (5 hours after the incident) my wife phoned to say that she has managed to e-mail a copy of her ID through as I still laid there on the stretcher untreated and no pain killer yet. After they received the e-mail they started to treat me and cut off my jeans and agatt which I wore under my jeans. I was ex rayed and it was found that the Tibia on the lower leg was fractured as well as some tendons were torn. The treatment was done until 3 am and I was kept in casualty till the next day. The next day a moon boot was fitted which caused even more pain. The specialist then fitted an old fashion plaster caster to the whole leg which held it more stable. I then spent the next 8 days in hospital and was discharged on Saturday and arrived back in JHB after my son fetched me back with my bakkie and my bike on the back. I was not allowed to fly back as it could cause a blood clot through the hart.
I would therefore want to thank my fellow Wilddog friends who waited patiently at the roadside till the ambulance arrived. Thanks to Johan, Jacque and Riana and Dave. Thanks also to Steven who I did not know before. Steven is a shining example of a scholar and a gentleman. He stored my bike, gave my buddies a place to sleep for the first night and visited me in hospital many time and bought me all my requirements and helped to load my bike when we fetched it Saturday. Also thanks to Riana, Dave and Johan who visited me in hospital and bought me munchies. Also thanks to all the sisters and nurses who were very patient with this 63 year old. Also thanks to Dr. Crowther for nursing me back to sanity.
As I read the other members reports on the bash I am so sorry to have missed it as I see so many familiar faces there. Thanks to all Schalk vd Merwe.
I would therefore want to thank my fellow Wilddog friends who waited patiently at the roadside till the ambulance arrived. Thanks to Johan, Jacque and Riana and Dave. Thanks also to Steven who I did not know before. Steven is a shining example of a scholar and a gentleman. He stored my bike, gave my buddies a place to sleep for the first night and visited me in hospital many time and bought me all my requirements and helped to load my bike when we fetched it Saturday. Also thanks to Riana, Dave and Johan who visited me in hospital and bought me munchies. Also thanks to all the sisters and nurses who were very patient with this 63 year old. Also thanks to Dr. Crowther for nursing me back to sanity.
As I read the other members reports on the bash I am so sorry to have missed it as I see so many familiar faces there. Thanks to all Schalk vd Merwe.
