ABERDEEN NEWS — Jeal Februarie (30) of Aberdeen was seriously injured after a freak accident last Thursday.
Februarie, who works in Elliot as a subcontractor for Eskom, had returned to Aberdeen to visit his family, who live in Brand Street.
As he did not have his car with him, he borrowed his nephew’s quad bike and went to get petrol for it, just before 18:30.
He had only been gone for about 10 minutes when a relative rushed to the house to tell the family that Jeal had been involved in an accident. While driving along Grey Street, he lost control of the vehicle near the Rank Mini Market, and the quad bike overturned, trapping him beneath it. According to a bystander, it is thought that the wind had caught the peak of Jeal’s baseball cap, and he had tried to catch it, causing him to lose control.
When they reached the accident scene, the family members at first thought that Jeal had been killed outright.
Thankfully he was still alive, but he had obviously suffered very serious injuries. A passer-by had stopped and lifted the bike off Jeal, and he was lying face down, bleeding profusely from his head.
The police were at the scene by this time, waiting for the ambulance to arrive, and repeatedly told the family members not to touch the injured man. His sister Kelly however, fearing that he might drown in his own blood, tried to clear the blood from his nose to create an airway. Fortunately, a professional nurse, Sr Martha de Beer from the Aberdeen Hospital, was passing and immediately stopped and took control of the scene to try to stabilise the injured man. She also contacted Dr Desemele, who responded despite officially being on leave.
The ambulance, which had been returning to Aberdeen from Graaff-Reinet, then arrived, and the injured man was taken first to Aberdeen Hospital, where he was seen by Dr Desemele. He was sent to Midland Hospital in Graaff-Reinet for x-rays, and from there to Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth. His sister Blanch travelled with him in the ambulance, while Kelly and their mother Bernie followed by car, arriving at Livingstone about 1.30am.
His condition has fluctuated since his admission, but his family report that according to the doctors, he is in a semi-coma. He has a fractured skull and collarbone and bleeding on the left side of his brain. His family have been told that surgery is not an option at this stage.
On Saturday he was responsive and could say his name, but little else. By Monday, there seemed to be a setback, and he was totally unresponsive with no movement. When his mother and sister met with Jeal’s doctor on Tuesday morning, they were urged to be patient and not give up hope. His mother Bernie, and her three young grandchildren are staying in PE with Kelly, who is studying at NMU and visiting him twice daily.
The Februarie family would like to thank everyone for all the messages of support and comfort that they have received, from so many people in the Aberdeen community. They are also extremely grateful for all the prayers that have been said for Jeal’s healing.
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