I remember a long, long time ago having a conversation with someone wherein they said that they would never, ever visit Australia because too many fauna could kill you Down Under. You would live in fear over there, the person, said, shuddering at the very thought. So I think the calculus is that Aussies are brave. And that they survive.
FOUR months after losing his hand in a great white shark attack at Bondi Beach, surfer Glenn Orgias decided it was time to get back into the water.
"The night before I was feeling very anxious and I didn't sleep very well," Mr Orgias said yesterday. "I was worried that I would freak out."
Far from losing his nerve, the energy trader was euphoric when he stepped into the ocean.
"When I walked from the car to the sand and from the sand to the water, the feeling of excitement overtook everything," he said. "I was excited to be in the water, alive and to be able to enjoy myself -- I actually had a lot of fun."
Mr Orgias, 32, spent three weeks in intensive care at St Vincent's Hospital after he was attack on February 12, while surfing at dusk.
In an attempt to save his hand, doctors had to make a cut to allow blood to flow out. He had 18 hours of microsurgery.
"At one time my body was like a big tube: blood going in one hand and out the other end," he said.
The experience has changed his life and left him grateful to those who donated blood.
"I feel indebted to all those people who donated blood and who have allowed me to go on with my life," he said. "I feel I need to pay them back.
"When I was in hospital I used almost 150 blood donations when they were trying to save my hand and keep me alive."
Mr Orgias has been battling through the recovery phase.
"It was very tough at the start and a bit painful, but it's going really well now," he said. "My arm is loosening up now and the range of movement and strength has improved bit by bit."
Mr Orgias will be taking part in this year's City to Surf fun run to raise awareness for blood donation.
"I'm getting around 100 people running with me and we'll all be wearing Australian Red Cross T-shirts."
Instead of collecting monetary sponsorships, Mr Orgias is asking for blood donor pledges. "We hope to get to our ambitious target of 5000 pledges," he said.
Mr Orgias said he had been inspired to see the quick recovery of Paul de Gelder, the navy clearance diver who lost his hand and right leg after a bull shark attack in Sydney Harbour.
Supporters can register to donate blood as part of Mr Orgias's City to Surf run at www.runningonblood.com
Saturday, June 27, 2009
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