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SA blast victim has brain op
29/01/2004 22:43 - (SA)
Elise Tempelhoff, Beeld
Johannesburg - Deon Gouws of Pretoria, who was seriously injured in Wednesday's suicide bombing in Baghdad, underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday night to remove shrapnel in his brain.
Gouws, 43, was in a serious, but stable, condition on Thursday. He is expected to be transferred from a Baghdad hospital to one in Germany shortly.
Gouws also lost two fingers and a big toe in the explosion.
Bets Bouwer, Gouws's fiancé, told Beeld that, at one stage, it appeared as if Gouws would lose his right arm, but doctors were able to save it.
Gouws also had serious facial injuries and has already had one reconstruction operation.
Frans Strydom, 42, a former security policeman and close friend and colleague of Gouws, died in the explosion. Another four South Africans had minor wounds from the blast.
Getting the best treatment
Bouwer said that someone called Wayne, who worked for Erinys Iraq, Gouws's employers, had been in constant contact with her.
"He phones me basically every hour with an update on Deon's condition. Deon is apparently surrounded by American doctors," she said.
She said Gouws was apparently getting the best treatment. She added that she was ready to fly to her fiancé, but had been warned she would not be allowed to enter Iraq.
Gouws left for Iraq on January 8 with a group of South Africans who are employed in the security industry in Iraq. He phoned Bouwer on Sunday night and said the group was protecting American engineers who were rebuilding Baghdad's infrastructure.
- Beeld
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