So perhaps you hav been wondering why I've been AWOL...
A month ago I was stabbed twice while walking in Cape Town. I had just run my first ever workshop ("The Art of Attraction") and was due to meet the participants at a party and help them with their flirtations. The workshop went great.
My lift didn't arrive and I don't have a car so decided to walk in to the center of town. En route I met some kids being pushed in a makeshift go-kart, down the main road at 9pm! This amused me and we talked and connected as I pushed them a little bit. The older kid at the back pointed around a corner into a side street. As I pushed them into the side street I did not like the vibe and so returned to the main road quite quickly. The older boy ran off - possibly to call others. About 30 seconds after getting back on the main road 4 youths in their late teens appeared on the street behind me - I noticed knives glinting in the streetlights. My mind thought was to stop and just hand over my wallet and phone, my feet did not think they simply ran - fast. I was in tai chi slippers so kicked them off and ran in my socks.
The guys chased me and we all ran down the center of the main road. If you know Cape Town this happened in Sir Lowry main road Woodstock about 1km before The Castle...I was running into an even more deserted area. Then a car coming the other way slowed down to see what was going on and I ran for the car. Over here there is a blank spot, am missing about 30 seconds of memory. The next think I knew I was on the front bonnet of the car (over the passenger side window) hanging on to the roof rack banging on the roof for them to drive. I knew I had been stabbed in the leg (I only later discovered I had also been satbbed in the shoulder). He proceeded to accellerate really fast, it was quite exhilarating to be hanging onto the front of a fast moving car..
The driver of the car stopped outside Woodstock police station got out and snarled
"Get the fuck off my car"
"I've been stabbed can you take me to the hospital?"
"What the fuck were you doing? Buying drugs?"
"No I was walking to town. Can you take me to the hospital?"
"No - go to the police station."
"I can't walk can you help me?"
"No."
The crawl to te police station was about 30 meters, I slid in leaving a thick trail of blood behind me like some huge red slug. At this stage my jeans were soaked from top to bottom, the wound was still pumping, I was trying to hold it closed but could feel warmth on my hand as I continued to leak. The Police simply ignored me, I could feel their eyes slide off me.
"Please help"
"We've called an ambulance."
I desperately wanted someone to sit with me band maybe put a hand on me but they did not. HIV infection is really common here and South Africans are terrified of it - so someone covered in blood was obviously pretty scary. At this stage I remember thinking "Oh Fuck. I could be in real trouble". I had lost a lot of blood and ambulances in South Africa are notoriously scarce and slow.
Then the guy who's car I grabbed onto came into the police station and asked me if I wanted to phone someone. Oh yes! Of course I had my phone. I called my flatmate Mark who was just around the corner. Then a senior policeman arrived and decided having someone die on the floor of the police station might not look great and perhaps they could take me to the hospital.
I was loaded into the back of the police van and driven at high speed to Groote Schuur a local public hospital. Thing is they neglected to close the door. So there I was curled up on the metal floor holding desperately onto a bench so I didn't slide out of the van. The door was banging crazily and I briefly held it closed but then decided that putting pressure on the wound was actually much more important.
Arriving at the hospital I was met by my friend, housemate and landlord Mark. An ally at last! It was good to see a friendly face. Mark could not stay with me long though as we had to fill in admittance forms and give them medical insurance details before treatment. Treatment...well my blood pressure wqas dangerously low so they hooked me up to a plasma drip but then I was not seen for ages. This being a public hospital and a Saturday night in South Africa I was waay down the triage list.
"Is a doctor coming soon?"
"No - they are dealing with 2 recusictations and a gunshot victim."
Anyway I have medical insurance (thanks mom!) and so Mark wisely decided to call an ambulance and get me the fuck out of there and into a private hospital. This took a couple of hours. Once at the hospital a face pulled a tongue at me through the ambulance window and I burst out lauging in relief. Arriving at City Park was the first time I really felt safe. The face was Robyne's - my friends Robyne and Adam who I was supposed to meet that night had come to meet me at the hospital. Robyne is a also my yoga teacher and head of Brave a foundation helping people recover using yoga. Convienent huh?
The wounds have mostly healed but there is some nerve damage in the leg (which causes me constant pain) and I cannot walk properly yet. There are also many emotional issues which have come up. One of the realisations has been how insistent I have been on doing things alone and not asking for support. Ridiculous! I have so many wonderful friends.
So friends please think of me, send some healing energy or say a little prayer - a note about where you are at would be wonderful.
Much love to you wherever you find yourself,
Simon
Yep, thats all blood on those jeans...
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