29 December – Rehoboth

Tonight I don’t tell (yet) of our adventures since last Thursday. That will come tomorrow. No, today I write about what Lisa and I experienced on the camping Lake Oanab, Rehoboth. Around half past three, Lisa heard someone shouting at the lake and she went to see what was going on. Very quickly she came back and shouted that I had to come immediately because someone was, unconsciously, taken out of the water. She immediately grabbed our first aid bag from the car. When I arrived, there was an older man half in the water while his children tried to resuscitate him. Together with the children I gave the man CPR, with me giving heart massage and they mouth to mouth. With this we continued until the ambulance came 30 minutes later. The doctor stated that the man was dead  likely from a heart attack. He came from Windhoek, about 100 km away and there was family from Cape Town, about 1500 km from here. They would celebrate here Newyears Eve.

I never thought that the first aid training, which I had 25 years ago, would be useful now. For those who are still in doubt, please follow a training.

Lisa and I are pretty emotional but we are convinced that we have done everything. The man’s family has also thanked us extensively before driving them home. What surprised us is that, from the entire campsite including staff, we were the only ones doing something although unsuccessful. Lisa has been in contact with camping staff….

Tomorrow I will report on our experiences, but we had to tell this first.