When a shark tore at her arms during a Wild Coast swim, Stellenbosch student Tamsin Scott thought her limbs would be ripped off.
Her dad reached her in seconds.
“He punched it in the nose a couple of times and it left. We ran to the beach. I was bleeding so much and had to tell myself not to panic. I could feel my heart rate was high.”
Hearing the screams, Scott’s brother Adam, 24, sprinted to the beach and carried her to the cottage where the family applied tourniquets and rushed her to Isilimela hospital 7km away.
Intern Dr Zoelle Horowitz was on duty that day. “She was pale, dizzy and semiconscious and her arms looked very gory, but the family was joking with her. Her blood pressure was dangerously low and she looked like she had been stabbed 10 times in each arm.”
Horowitz, who coincidentally studied medicine with Tamsin’s older sister, Jamie at UCT, swung into action, patching up the wounds and putting her on a drip. But the hospital lacked equipment she needed and she was flown to Johannesburg.
“I had 27 severed tendons and nerve and muscle damage.
“My reconstructive surgeon said I had bite marks on my bones. He said I was very lucky not to have lost my arms,” said Scott.
A blood transfusion, 12 days in ICU, four operations and many hours of physio and hand therapy later, Scott’s wrists are still stiff and her right index finger is in splints.
“I split my final year into two and have been studying at home.
“At first I couldn’t feed myself, dress or do anything, but every day I get stronger. I started driving last week,” said Scott, who plans to return to campus after Easter.
“I’m told I’ll make a full recovery in six months.
“Since the attack, everything went my way – my father helping, the amazing doctors at Isilemela and Millpark hospitals and my supportive family. Everyone did their best,” said Scott.
“I have been going to Mpande since I was born and I’ll definitely go back. I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel comfortable in the water again, but I will try.” — barbarah@dispatch. co.za
Dad saves woman, 22, from shark
Her dad reached her in seconds.
“He punched it in the nose a couple of times and it left. We ran to the beach. I was bleeding so much and had to tell myself not to panic. I could feel my heart rate was high.”
Hearing the screams, Scott’s brother Adam, 24, sprinted to the beach and carried her to the cottage where the family applied tourniquets and rushed her to Isilimela hospital 7km away.
Intern Dr Zoelle Horowitz was on duty that day. “She was pale, dizzy and semiconscious and her arms looked very gory, but the family was joking with her. Her blood pressure was dangerously low and she looked like she had been stabbed 10 times in each arm.”
Horowitz, who coincidentally studied medicine with Tamsin’s older sister, Jamie at UCT, swung into action, patching up the wounds and putting her on a drip. But the hospital lacked equipment she needed and she was flown to Johannesburg.
“I had 27 severed tendons and nerve and muscle damage.
“My reconstructive surgeon said I had bite marks on my bones. He said I was very lucky not to have lost my arms,” said Scott.
A blood transfusion, 12 days in ICU, four operations and many hours of physio and hand therapy later, Scott’s wrists are still stiff and her right index finger is in splints.
“I split my final year into two and have been studying at home.
“At first I couldn’t feed myself, dress or do anything, but every day I get stronger. I started driving last week,” said Scott, who plans to return to campus after Easter.
“I’m told I’ll make a full recovery in six months.
“Since the attack, everything went my way – my father helping, the amazing doctors at Isilemela and Millpark hospitals and my supportive family. Everyone did their best,” said Scott.
“I have been going to Mpande since I was born and I’ll definitely go back. I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel comfortable in the water again, but I will try.” — barbarah@dispatch. co.za
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